Two Lives to Live
by Blade-Claven
Summary: COMPLETE..This is the muchanticipated sequel to Life Not Worth Living. It will pick up where its predecessor left off. It takes place after Harry’s Hogwarts’ years when he is an older man.
1. Return to the World

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters in it, they belong to J.K. Rowling, Scholastic Books or Bloomsbury Publishing or Warner Bros or whoever owns the rights at this time, but I do not nor do I claim any rights.

**Summary:** This is the much-anticipated sequel to Life Not Worth Living. It will pick up where its predecessor left off. It takes place after Harry's Hogwarts' years when he is an older man. It is a Harry/Tonks fic, so if you don't like that ship, then you should stay clear of this story.

**A/N:** I have rated it M because there will be violence, adult themes, and strong language. If you have not read **Life Not Worth Living** then this story will make no sense to you most likely. So I advise you to go read that story before attempting this one or you will be really confused.

Thanks to **Patrick (The Rat Killer)** for betaing the chapter.

**Chapter One: Return to the World**

For most people the safe return of Auror Potter and Auror Tonks was met with celebration, for most people feared that their captive would kill them. However not everyone was joyous over their return to the Wizarding world, especially since they weren't dead.

Cornelius Fudge was one of the people who weren't happy to have them safely returned. The months that he spent when Harry Potter was missing were blissful and worry free. He didn't have to worry about anyone trying to over throw him, and boot him out of his position of power. A position that he worked very hard to maintain when Harry Potter was around. Now that Harry was back it meant that he once again had to wake up every morning wondering if he would have a job when the day ended.

Malcom Hardy was another man who was not at all happy that two of his associates had been returned unharmed. He was sure that Potter had been in cahoots with the menace known as Silver Wolf, but he wasn't able to prove it. Though he was determined to prove that Potter was connected to the pain in his ass, and then when he did he would put Potter in Azkaban where he believed Potter belonged, along with Tonks. Hardy was happy with his current position as head of the Auror department and he wasn't about to allow the wonder boy or his clumsy bitch take that away from him.

Hardy had worked hard to convince Fudge that Kingsley Shacklebolt was not doing his job right and that he should be removed from the position of power. Fudge knew that he could control Hardy, where he couldn't control Kingsley, so he saw this change as a betterment for him as well.

Hardy tried to get information out of Harry and Tonks when they were found outside the Ministry of Magic, but he found that they had no memories of what had happened to them while they were being held captive. Hardy was not happy about this turn of events and set out to make life hard for both of them. Harry and Tonks were put on inactive duty while Hardy tried to figure out what had happened to them while they were missing.

Having no memories from the months that they were missing Harry and Tonks went back to their individual homes without a clue to the fact that they were a couple. Harry returned to his one room apartment that he had left behind months before. He sat down in his red armchair and felt more depressed than he had ever before. Not only could he not remember what had happened to him, now he was on inactive duty with nothing to do but sit and stare at his vacant apartment.

Tonks was not much better as she returned to her apartment. Without being at work she really didn't have anything to do, and the money she had would run out soon if she didn't get back on to active duty soon. She wasn't rich like Harry, so she depended on the money from her working to pay the bills a lot more than he did.

A week pasted and still no one had heard much from Harry or Tonks since they were both still being kept on inactive duty by Hardy. He was determined not to allow them back to work until he knew exactly where they had been and who had captured them. Though he had a hunch that Harry was protecting the person who did it because he still believed that he was somehow in connection with the mysterious Silver Wolf.

Spade was becoming concerned as the time passed because two of his top agents were still not back within his ranks and he didn't like that. He needed Wolf and Panther working on getting their team together, so they would be up and operational when he needed them.

"Blade there has to be a way to get those two back, because without their team we may not be able to pull off this latest mission I have received."

Blade sat across from Spade in his office and he knew exactly what Spade meant, and the truth was Blade was a bit worried too. He knew that Harry was not in the mental shape to take the strain of being away from Tonks like he was, and Blade didn't like the situation at all. "I say we eliminate the threat to them, then they could have their memories back."

"I would love nothing more than to take Malcom Hardy out of his position as the Head Auror, but you know as well as I do that we can't do that without drawing attention to ourselves. No there has to be some way for us to get Wolf and Panther back and keep them a secret from Hardy until the time is right to take the rug from under him."

Blade knew this was true too, but his wolf side wanted nothing more than to kill Hardy for the hell he had caused Harry and Tonks. "I know Spade it is just troubling as we are helpless to aid them."

Both men sat in silence for a while thinking about the problem at hand and ways that they could fix the problem. Blade was the first to speak after the prolonged silence. "What about Fox? Couldn't she just give them their memories back and that way we would have our agents back?"

"I wish it were that simple Blade I truly do, because then it would be no problem. However if we had Fox give them their memories too soon then Hardy might question them and get the answers he wants so badly. No giving them their memories back is out until we are absolutely sure that Hardy is no longer a threat to our operation and their wellbeing."

A knock came to the door, as both men were once again silent. Spade gave permission to enter and a man walked in looking grim with a paper in his hand. He handed the parchment to Spade and then placed a small package on his desk before excusing himself from the room.

Spade read the parchment and as he did his face began to pale a bit.

"What's wrong Spade?" Blade asked knowing that there was something bad in the parchment that he was reading.

"This is a report from one of my contacts. It is just as bad as I thought Blade, and the situation is dire at best."

Blade being in on most of what was happening knew that the situation was bad if Spade was getting pale over it. Though he wasn't sure which situation he was referring to since there were a few different situations happening as they spoke. "Spade if it is as bad as it seems maybe I should get a team together and take care of the situation."

"No I need you here Blade, no I will send Tiger with a team to take care of this quietly as possible. I do not need this problem to escalate further than it has. Though I fear the worst sending any team into this situation."

"Are you sure that Tiger would be best suited for this mission Spade? I know he is fully trained and all, but you know the type of team he pulls together."

Spade opens the package on his desk and looks at the contents for a moment, which looks like a pack of playing cards. "I am well aware of the rogue members he pulls together for missions, but I think his speed will be an added advantage."

Blade looked at the deck of cards that Spade held in his hand and instantly knew what the situation was that he was talking about. "What about the casualty factor? We might be talking about muggles, but we can't just send any team in there blind."

Spade looked down at the deck of unopened cards in his hand and then at the parchment again. "I would rather be sending in Wolf and Panther's team, but seeing as they are inactive at the moment I am left with little choice at this point Blade."

"How about Ice Queen?"

Spade laughed at the comment and then looked serious once more. "No that would cause even more casualties. You know how Ice Queen is once you send her on a mission she gets into kill first ask questions later mode. No we need these people brought back alive if at all possible. That is the only way we can connect everything together."

Blade looked down at the floor once more wishing that he could come up with a solution that would serve the purpose, but everything kept returning to the same fact that they needed Silver Wolf back and they needed him now.

Harry was taking the inactive duty badly as he sat in his apartment. He had repeatedly done his Occlumency to figure out what had happened to him over the time he was missing, and kept getting the same answer. "Who the hell is Fox and what does this person have to do with my missing memories?"

Spade against his better judgment sent Tiger along with a small team to go take care of the situation before it got any worse. Little did he know that the situation was already worse than he knew. A week after sending Tiger and his team out they lost contact with him and the team. Spade called in his inner circle to discuss the situation.

"Spade I told you it was wrong to send Tiger out on this mission. He may be fully trained, but he is immature." Blade said heatedly as he sat at the table knowing full well that Tiger was not the right person for the mission he went on.

"That's enough Blade I know I shouldn't have sent him, but I had little choice in what to do. I didn't know how bad the situation had gotten, and now it seems that it is far worse than I first believed."

"It gets worse I am afraid Spade. I found out from a source that one of Tiger's team members was found dead. Matt Hawk was found a few hours ago, and it is reported that he was brutally slain. It looks like some sort of an animal from the account that my source gave me attacked him. It gets even worse I am afraid since my source also said that Faris Hamza, Afzal Bahadur, Xian Di Akira, and Omar Rais have gone further into hiding, so it will be that much harder to find them now." Shadow said as he looked at Spade with disapproving eyes.

"Not only have we lost one of our inner circle, a rogue member, and now four of the most wanted muggles have disappeared! Can this day get any worse?" Ice Queen asked though it was clear that she was pissed by what had happened.

"Maybe we could send another team in that is more prepared for this type of mission." Quake said hoping to sound convincing.

"That is just it Quake we can handle wizards just fine, it these damn muggles that are giving us a hard time! How can a bunch of muggles get the better of a fully trained wizard, let a lone a team of five of them?"

"As I said Tiger may be trained, but he is too immature for this type of mission. No we need to send in a team that is mature and trained. Especially now since the top muggles are underground we will need to flush them out to get at them." Blade said heatedly as he was still pissed about sending Tiger in the first place.

"Okay Blade that's enough I know it was a mistake to send him, but running him into the mud when he isn't here isn't going to help matters." Spade said as he stood up from his seat. "We need information and the only way I know to get it is to bring the rest of the muggles in alive for questioning. In order to do that we will need a team that is able to get in and out of the muggle habitants without drawing too much attention. Blade get a hold of Fox and tell her that Operation Memory is a go. Shadow head back and pump your sources for as much information as you can get out of them; I want to know as much about this situation as possible. Ice Queen get a team together I want the body of Matt Hawk brought back to our infirmary for a complete autopsy. Quake I want you to get in touch with our people in America. I want Dolphin here as soon as possible."

"Sir are you sure about her? After all she is NSA." Quake asked as he looked at Spade.

"I know that she is part of the National Security Agency, but she is also a muggle born witch. She will be able to blend in better than many of our agents, and also she is fully trained. She might even be able to use some of her NSA contacts to aid us in finding our missing agents. " Spade said as he sat back down. "Dismissed."

Everyone had their assignment to do and walked out of Spade's office to complete their task. Spade put his head in his hands and stared at his desk. "Merlin help me if I am wrong for doing this."


	2. Operation Memory

**A/N: Thanks to those that reviewed and I hope you enjoy the rest of the story. To those of you who felt you knew what the plot was I am using you will be in for a shock.**

Thanks to **Patrick (The Rat Killer)** and **Cypher** for betaing the chapter.

**Chapter Two: Operation Memory**

The situation was to the point that Spade was willing to risk the exposure to bring two of his top agents back into action. This of course meaning that he wanted to get Silver Wolf and Black Panther back into action, but the problem was that neither of the people knew that they were these people.

Blade was given the task of contacting Fox and letting her know that she was to put Operation Memory into action. The problem there was that Fox was working inside the Department of Mysteries, which made it more difficult to get into touch with her on short notice.

Ginny Weasley, also known as Fox, was hard at work inside the Department of Mysteries. She had the position as the head of the department after the old head retired. This meant that she was kept busy most of the day doing paperwork.

Though she spent a big part of her day worrying, because like everyone else within the Jade Scorpions, she was worried about Harry and Tonks. More so she was worried because they were good friends outside of the organization. So this added to her worrying since neither of them seemed to be out in public as of late. It appeared that they both had disappeared again, though she knew they were in fact at home wallowing in depression because of what Hardy had done to them.

She wanted to help her two friends, and she knew if she was able to just give them their memories back that they wouldn't be depressed any longer and would be more social. The problem she faced was that first Hardy was being an asshole about the situation and second without permission from Spade she couldn't just go ahead with giving them their memories back.

Ginny tossed down the paperwork that she was doing in frustration. "Damn it there has to be a way to get Hardy off of their backs!" she said to herself heatedly. She sat staring at the paper as a black and brown owl fly into her office. She took the letter from the owl and watched as it flew off.

_Fox  
__Operation Memory is a go!  
__Blade_

Ginny looked at the short note again knowing exactly what it meant, and she was a bit relieved to know that one of her problems had been answered for her. She now had permission from Spade to give them back their memories, but there was still the problem of Hardy.

"Hardy you low life son of a witch, there has to be a way to get your ass off of Harry and Tonks." Ginny said to herself, as she looked at the note from Blade once more. She knew that it must be important if Spade wanted Harry and Tonks back into action, but the fact was she didn't know if they were ready for what was going to happen.

"Director Weasley your brother is here to see you." Came a voice over an intercom like device that was set up between Ginny's desk and her security's desk out in the next office.

"Which brother would that be Sahara?" Ginny asked.

"It is Ronald ma'am." Sahara said through the intercom.

"Send him in."

Ron Weasley walked through the door and into Ginny's office. He made his way over to the seat in front of her and sat down.

"What do I owe this unexpected visit on?"

"Do I need an excuse to come see my baby sister?"

"No I suppose not, but normally you do need an appointment, but I can make an exception this one time, so what are you really doing here Ron?"

Ron looked down at the floor for a moment before looking at his sister again. "Its Harry, I am worried about him. He has locked himself away in his apartment and isn't answering any owls. Hermione thought at first that he was just suffering with displacement issues, but I think it is a lot worse than that."

"You would be anti-social too Ron if you were captured for months and then when you return you find that the man in charge of your department believes that you were behind your own kidnapping." Ginny said heatedly as she looked sternly at her brother.

"I didn't know he was having it that hard."

"You never see beyond your own nose Ronald that is your problem! Now if you are done I have a lot of work to get done."

"Ginny there has to be some way to help him. He helped you when you were in trouble and now he needs are help, but he isn't going to take any help lightly."

"Don't you think that I have thought about that? Do I look like I am Percy? I have been trying to find a way to get Hardy off of Harry's case, but it isn't like I can do much."

"For Merlin's sake Ginny you are the head of the Department of Mysteries. Can't you have some of your people talk to Hardy?"

"I…you know what Ron that actually does give me an idea. Thanks brother, now if you will excuse me I need to see if I can help Harry."

Ron thanked Ginny and then left her office, and she sat looking at her desk for a moment. "Ron's right I am the head of this department and as such I am in charge of the most powerful enforcers in the ministry. Not to mention that I work outside of the Ministry as well, so I will help Harry and Tonks the best way I can."

Ginny grabbed a clean piece of parchment and started to work on the letter that she hoped would help both Harry and Tonks in the long run. When she finished with that letter she then started on others that had to be done as well.

Harry was sitting alone in his apartment when a stark black owl made its way in through an open window. The owl was unlike any he had seen before, so he was sure it wasn't a letter from one of his friends. Though he didn't want to take it, after a moment of pondering he did. As he looked at the outside of the letter he could tell that it was an official letter form the ministry. He figured he might as well read it since it might be his letter telling him he was back on active duty.

_Mr. Harry Potter  
__I regret to inform you that your class and rank as an Auror within the ministry of magic has been revoked do to circumstances beyond the control of this office. If you wish to appeal this decision you can either contact me or your department head to schedule a formal hearing on the issue of your dismissal.  
__  
Amelia Bones  
__Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement_

Harry was devastated and appalled by what he read in the letter. He crumbled it up and tossed it into the fireplace, and then aimed his wand at the fireplace and sent a ball of fire into the cold hearth, igniting the parchment. "How can this be happening to me? What have I done to deserve such terrible luck?" Harry said as he stared looking at the burning parchment.

After a minute of staring into the fireplace another black owl came flying in through the window like the last one did. Harry stared at the owl for a moment wondering if he really wanted to read the letter that the owl had. "Oh what the hell not like this day can get any worse."

_Harry_

_If you want an explanation for what has happened to your memories and why you were sacked as an Auror then you will need to use this Portkey to come meet me. Do not worry I am not a threat to you, but if you don't come then you will never know the truth._

_Fox_

Harry looked at the small ring that was most likely the Portkey mentioned in the note. "Fox? Who the hell is Fox?"

Harry didn't like the idea of going into anything blind, but something inside him told him to trust this Fox character, though he wasn't sure why he should. As far as he knew it could have been a trap by Voldemort.

"If this is a trap by Voldemort then I will give him a fight he will never forget!" Harry said as he grabbed the ring and waited for it to activate. After a minute of waiting he felt the all too familiar tug behind his naval, which told him that the Portkey was activating.

Harry landed with a hard thud on to a wooden floor that seemed somewhat familiar to him, but yet strange. As he pulled himself up off the floor and brushed off his backside he looked around the room he was in, and the room looked somewhat familiar to him.

Harry dove for behind a chair as he heard what sounded like a Portkey coming in where he was standing trying to figure out what in the hell was going on. He had his wand in hand waiting to see who was arriving, and didn't relax until he saw who it was.

"Tonks what are you doing here?" Harry asked as he came out from behind the chair.

"Wotcher Harry, I am here looking for answers, why you here?"

"I am looking for answers too."

"You lost your job too then?"

"Yeah and when I find out who the hell this Fox person is they have a lot of explaining to do." Harry said as he sat down in the chair he had been using as a shield.

"Damn straight, so any idea who Fox is?" Tonks said as she went and sat on the couch by the chair Harry was in.

"No, but I have a feeling we will be finding out soon."

Harry and Tonks sit in silence for a minute before a third person made her way into the room and joined them where they were seated, waiting for the mysterious Fox.

"Ginny, what are you doing here? Did this Fox get you fired too?" Harry asked as he jumped up out of his seat to stand in front of Ginny.

"No, but I am here for a specific reason, so Harry if you would please sit back down, I'll explain why we are all here." Ginny said as she motioned for Harry to sit down again.

Harry stood firm in place as he looked at Ginny. "Ginny, what do you mean you have to explain? What exactly is going on here and what do you have to do with Fox?"

"Please Harry, sit down and I promise I will explain everything." Ginny said as she more directly forced Harry toward his seat.

Harry finally relented and sat back down, but he didn't look too happy about it. "Okay I am sitting, now what in the hell is going on here and who the hell is this Fox?"

"Before I get into that I have to ask you do you know anything about a man named Silver Wolf?"

"What?" Harry asked enraged now. "Did Hardy send you to get answers out of me? Ginny I have told that son of a bitch that I don't know any Silver Wolf and I don't remember anything about being abducted! If I did don't you think I would have helped the Aurors catch the man that captured Tonks and I?"

"Calm down Harry." Ginny said as she paced a bit knowing things weren't going like she had planned. "What I am about to tell you will seem like a lie but I promise it is the truth and once it is all out you will know everything."

Harry doesn't look too happy, but he kept his mouth shut as did Tonks as they waited to hear what Ginny has to say to them.

"Harry you were never abducted, the truth is that you are the man known as Silver Wolf." Ginny can tell that Harry doesn't believe her by the look on his face. "I know you think I am lying, but I assure you that I am telling the truth. Silver Wolf was the codename that you were given when you joined the organization known as the Jade Scorpions."

Ginny paused as she looked at Tonks. "Tonks you weren't exactly abducted either, well you sort of were, but that is a long story. The point is that both of you are members of the Jade Scorpions, as am I. I am the mysterious Fox that both of you have been seeking to find."

"What?" Tonks asked in disbelief.

"Ginny what the hell is the meaning of this? If you are Fox why would you get me, one of your best friends fired, and Tonks, she never did a damn thing to you, why get her fired?" Harry asked heatedly as he stared at his one time friend.

"Don't you get it Harry I had no choice, but to have you fired, both of you. I didn't do it out of spite! I did it because I had to do it Harry. You need to be given back the memories of what happened to you when you were gone, and I knew that as long as Hardy was breathing down your necks that I couldn't risk either of you having your memories back."

"Our memories? What do you know about our missing memories?" Tonks asked as she looked at Ginny.

"I am the one who was chosen by you both to be your Memory Keeper. All will be explained once you have received your memories back. First though I want you to know that even though you have been sacked as Aurors you are not out of work. You won't have to worry about Hardy coming after you any more."

"What do you mean by that?" Harry asked still confused by what Ginny was telling him and Tonks.

"I will get to that after." Ginny said as she walked over to a shelf that contained two pensives. She grabbed them and then walked back over to where Harry and Tonks were seated. "I will explain about your jobs once you have gotten all your memories from these pensives and back into your heads." Ginny set one pensive in front of Harry and the other in front of Tonks.


	3. The New Team

**A/N:** Well another week and another chapter hope you all like it and thanks to those that reviewed.

Thanks to **Patrick (The Rat Killer)** and **Blain (CypherX)** for betaing the chapter.

**Chapter Three: The New Team**

After an hour of placing memories into their heads from the pensives that Ginny had provided Harry and Tonks managed to get them all back into place. The experience was overwhelming at first, but as they continued to implant the memories back they started to manage them better.

Harry stood up following putting the last memory into his head. "Ginny if we were sacked to be able to get our memories back so soon then that means that Spade must really need us right?"

"All I know is that Spade gave the go ahead to give your memories back. Beyond that point I am not sure what is happening. I am not part of his inner circle like you two are, so I am not kept informed about everything that happens within the organization. I have been reporting to Spade about Hardy being on your asses about the abduction and that is why he kept preventing me from returning the memories sooner. Now out of the blue I get a message saying that the operation is a go, with no further information provided."

"I think we should go talk to Spade personally then about what is happening." Tonks said, as she finished up with her last memory.

"I am sure Spade would love to see you both, but there is another matter that you need to take care of first." Ginny said as she looked at them both.

"What can be more important?" Tonks asked as she stood up and walked over to Harry's side.

"Well I wouldn't say it is more important than whatever Spade's reason was for having you back so quickly, but it is important if you wish to be employed when you return from visiting Spade."

"That's right we are no longer Aurors since Ginny seen fit to have us sacked, so Ginny if you would be a dear and explain what in the hell we are to do now?" Harry said as he looked at Ginny.

"Come with me and all shall be explained Harry. As I said having you sacked was the only way to make sure that Hardy couldn't question you as an Auror. Not to mention the fact that Hardy never planned on allowing you back on active duty. He would have had you pushing papers for a living behind a desk." Ginny said as she pulled a necklace out of her pocket and held it in front of her. "Place a finger on and we shall continue this discussion elsewhere."

Harry isn't one to go blindly into anything, but he trusted Ginny and placed his finger on to the necklace. Tonks trusting Harry followed his lead and placed a finger on the necklace as well. They all felt the familiar tug behind their navels as the Portkey activated and transported them to their new destination.

They landed inside a dimly lit locker room of sorts with a thud. Harry wound up on his backside with Tonks on top of him, and Ginny standing with a grin on her face beside them. "If you two are done we shall continue."

"Very funny Gin, I am suppose to be this great savior and I can't even manage to take a Portkey without winding up on my ass." Harry said as he stood up and helped Tonks to her feet.

Ginny led them out of the room and down a hallway into another room. "Sit down and I will be right back." Ginny said as she walked a past the table and chairs in the center of the room towards a door on the other side of the room. Harry and Tonks sat down at the table to wait.

"So you remember everything now?" Harry asked as he looked at Tonks.

"Yes my love I do, and I am glad I do, because I have felt quite lonely the past few weeks." Tonks said as she leaned in and kissed Harry on the lips.

"As have I my love."

Harry and Tonks sat in silence for a minute when the door that Ginny had exited out of opened once more. Harry could hear three sets of footsteps, but he couldn't see anyone in the dimly lit room, which they were sitting in.

Ginny walked over to the more lit side of the table and sat down beside Harry. "Harry and Tonks there are two gentlemen here who would like a word with you. The first is Harold he is in charge of the department when it comes to the affairs of the Unspeakables. The second is Günther he is in charge of training and mission assignments for the Unspeakables under Harold's command."

"Department Head Weasley has informed me of your situation and as I understand it the reason for your problems is classified by her, so we were not given a full brief on why you were no longer able to be Aurors. What I am aware of is the fact that both of you are fully trained Aurors and more than capable of meeting the standards needed to be an Unspeakable." Harold said as he sat in the shadows on the opposite side of the table.

"I would really like to know what happened to cause you both to no longer be able to be Aurors if you are so skilled?" Günther asked from the other side of the table in a gruff tone that sounded a lot like Alastor Moody.

"Günther you know that is classified by my department. These two are under the protection of the Department of Mysteries and that should be enough to get you by." Ginny said in a stern determined tone.

"Quite right ma'am that is enough for now. Günther is just worried that whatever the matter is will affect their ability as an Unspeakable." Harold said in a calm tone.

"I assure you Harold that it will not be a problem." Ginny said in a more polite tone.

"After reviewing the records for both Harry Potter and Nymphadora Tonks I have concluded that they will be worthy additions to our small family here within the department, provided they can complete the training necessary to become an Unspeakable. There is more to it than what it takes to become an Auror." Harold said as he looked at Harry and Tonks.

"Thank you sir, but when will this training happen?" Harry asked politely as possible.

"Since it is late in the day we will start your training first thing Monday morning at seven o'clock. You will be given a Portkey to bring you to the locker room where you will then report to the training room. I am sure that Miss Weasley will be with you to help you get what you need to start." Harold said.

"Yes I will handle all of that Monday morning Harold and thank you for doing this. I am not one to ask favors, but Hardy is a hardball."

"Yes well we will see all of you here Monday morning for the first training exercise and the introductory test." Harold said as he and Günther stood to leave the room the way they came in.

The trio left the department via Portkey back to the house that they were at, which Harry had gotten as a temporary base of operations. As they arrived an owl flew in through an open window and landed in front of Ginny. Ginny took the letter from the owl and watched as he sped back out of the window.

_Fox_

_Have you completed Operation Memory yet? If so then have Wolf and Panther report here at once, if not then get it done and have them report at once._

_Spade_

"It would seem that Spade is eager to see both of you." Ginny said as she handed the note to Harry.

Harry read over the short note and then handed it to Tonks. "We shouldn't keep him waiting any longer. Ginny will you be here when we get back?"

"If you want me to be." Ginny said not sure of Harry wanted her to be there waiting for them or not after all that had happened.

"Ginny I consider you part of my team, and if this is a mission for my team, then I want you to be part of it." Harry said as Tonks nodded in agreement.

"Then I will be here waiting for your return Harry." Ginny said as she sat down.

Tonks looked at Harry for a moment. "We better get going Harry, Ginny we will be back as soon as we can."

"You're right Tonks, Gin we will see you soon." Harry said as he went over to a shelf and pulled out a box that contained a Black Skull Portkey.

Harry held on to the Portkey as Tonks placed her finger on it. Harry activated the Portkey to take Tonks and him to the Jade Scorpion's Headquarters where they could meet with Spade.

Harry and Tonks landed inside the Jade Scorpion's Headquarters without incident and as they looked around they waited for their greeting committee, which didn't take long. Blade came into the room where the two had arrived at and met them with a smile on his face.

"Wolf, Panther, it is great to see both of you finally." Blade said as he walked over to them.

"Blade what is happening?" Harry asked as he shook Blade's hand.

"Spade will explain that my friend, but I must say it is good to see you again." Blade said as he gave Tonks a hug.

"We haven't been gone all that long Blade." Tonks said as she hugged Blade back.

"It may have only been a few weeks, but that is too long in my opinion. Now please follow me Spade is waiting for you in his office." Blade said as he led Harry and Tonks towards Spade's office. "Where is Fox? I was sure she would have come along with you."

"Since we didn't know what Spade wanted she decided to stay behind since she isn't part of the inner circle." Harry said as he reached the door.

Blade opened the door and left Harry and Tonks make their way into the office first. As Harry walked in he saw Spade sitting behind his desk, Ice Queen, Quake, and Shadow sitting in front of the desk, and there was an unknown blonde girl who looked to be in her teens also sitting there as well.

"Wolf I can't tell you how happy I am that you are here." Spade said as he stood up to look at Harry and Tonks better.

"Spade what is happening?" Harry asked as he looked around the room. "Where is Tiger? Did you finally get wise and boot him out?"

"The place hasn't been the same without your charming wit Wolf." Quake said jokingly as he looked at Harry.

"Enough small talk, Wolf, Panther, I would like you to meet Dolphin. She is one of our agents from America and she is here to aid us in our current situation." Spade said as he motioned for the blonde girl to stand up and meet Harry and Tonks.

"Nice to meet both of you, as I understand it, you both are fully trained as Aurors and are more than capable of handling yourselves in the field." Dolphin said as she shook their hands.

"Nice to meet you Dolphin." Harry said as he turned his attention to Spade. "Now Spade could you kindly fill us in on the current situation?"

"I will get to that in a minute Wolf, but first I need to know how long will it take you to get a team together?" Spade said as he sat back down in his chair and motioned for Harry and Tonks to sit down in the open chairs that were positioned in front of him for them.

"That depends on the situation." Harry said as he sat down. "Panther and I are both able to go, and I know Fox would help us, but without knowing the situation and what our objectives are I have no idea on how many more people I need nor do I have any more trained at this point."

"At this point I believe a small team of four operatives would probably work best. Wolf I know I said I would give you full control of picking your team and training them, but I would like it if you worked with Dolphin on this mission."

"No disrespect or offense to you Dolphin, but how old are you? Because you don't look more then seventeen or eighteen at the most."

"No offense taken and I am twenty-one." Dolphin said as she looked at Harry. "If you're worried about my qualifications I might add that I am NSA."

Harry and Tonks both looked shocked at this revelation. "NSA? Spade I didn't know you had agents in the NSA." Tonks said as she looked at Spade.

"Yes well there is a lot of things keep secret until they are needed to be known Panther. As Dolphin said she is an agent in the National Security Agency and she is fully trained by them and the American Auror program, so her training should not be an issue. What is an issue is that she is muggle born, and trained in muggle interaction as part of a muggle organization. That is why I want her on your team Wolf, because of her expertise in that area, and because she has vital information that you will need for this mission."

"Welcome on board Dolphin, I am sure we will get along just fine." Harry said as he turned his attention to Spade. "Counting myself, Panther, Fox, and now Dolphin I have a team of four. I have two others I would like to train and bring in later, but since we have a situation now they will have to wait."

"Good." Spade said as he pulled out a package from his desk drawer. "Then we can move on to the purpose of your quick reactivation once you have gone and brought Fox back here."

"As you wish sir, I will be right back." Harry said as he stood up and used his Portkey to go get Ginny.


	4. The Situation

**A/N:** First I would like to say thank you to everyone that reviewed. Next I would like to say that I am sorry for the long delay, but issues prevented me from getting this up any sooner.

Thanks to **Patrick (The Rat Killer)** and **Blain (CypherX)** for betaing the chapter.

**Chapter Four: The Situation**

Harry used a Portkey to go back to the house where Ginny was waiting for him to return. He landed with a thud in the room where he had left Ginny and found her sitting in the same position that he had left her.

"Ginny now is when you decide if you are part of my team or not. If you are then come on Spade is ready to brief the team on what is happening. If you're not then you might as well go home." Harry said as he pulled himself off the floor and cleaned off his backside.

"A bit dramatic there Harry." Ginny said as she stood up. "Spade hasn't told you anything about what is going on then?"

"Not yet he is waiting until I have my whole team there, which is why I am here." Harry said as he looked at Ginny.

"Then by all means let's not keep the man waiting." Ginny said as she walked over to where Harry stood pulling out the skull, which was the Portkey to the headquarters.

Ginny put her finger on the skull and Harry activated it to take them back to the headquarters where they would finally find out what was happening. Harry led Ginny to the office where everyone was waiting once they arrived at the headquarters.

Ginny paused as she followed Harry into the office as she took in all the people who were attending the meeting. She knew all of them except for Dolphin, but Spade quickly introduced them and then motioned for her to sit down in the newly added seat, which was meant for her.

"Now that everyone is here we can begin the briefing." Spade said as he sat down and looked at the folder in front of him. "A week and a half ago I was contacted about going after numerous contracts that an anonymous group had. I said I would check them out if they sent me the briefs on the contracts. Two days later three of my operatives that were in the field went missing. I have since determined that their disappearance is in connection with the contracts the company offered."

"Is this anonymous group behind the disappearance of the operatives?" Harry asked interrupting Spade.

"I do not believe so, I believe that they got to close to stumbling on to something much bigger and were eliminated." Spade said in response before continuing. "Following the disappearance of the operatives I brought in my inner circle to discuss the situation. Tiger volunteered to take a team of his people in to see what had happened to the missing operatives. That was a week ago, and we have reports that Tiger and his team have either been captured or killed. We know for sure that one of his team was killed a Matt Hawk was found badly mutilated. Ice Queen has since recovered the body and it was determined that he was mulled to death by some sort of hybrid animal."

"You mean like a werewolf?" Tonks asked as she looked at Spade.

"Something like that Panther, but we have ruled out it being a werewolf. Whatever killed him did so violently, and therefore should not be taken lightly, whatever it was." Spade said as he looked at the paperwork in front of him.

"Let me get this straight you sent Tiger of all people out with a team, and now they are missing. So now my team has to go in and locate all the missing operatives?" Harry said as he looked at Spade.

"I tried to talk him out of sending him, but Tiger wouldn't listen." Blade said as he looked at Harry.

"I know I messed up by sending Tiger, but as much as you guys dislike him, he is a fully trained member of this organization. As such I felt that he would have been able to complete the objective that he had. Now then Wolf your team's primary objective is going to be to bring in the contracts that I tell you to bring in. Your secondary objective is to locate my missing operatives." Spade said as he pulled out a deck of playing cards and flipped over the first card. The card had the two of clubs on it, but it also had the face of a man on it as well. "This is Eldridge Homans; he is a muggle that is believed to be Small Time Drug Runner. The contract is for 25,000 American Dollars, which would convert to roughly 5,185 Galleons, 2 Sickles and 16 Knuts. The funds made from the contract are not up for argument. The target is only the first in a line of targets that there are contracts out for. However we will need to gain intelligence from the contracts to get some of the bigger players. This means that the contract must be brought in alive for questioning, I am sure that will not be a problem."

"Not a problem at all sir, my team will not kill anyone unless we are at grave risk." Harry said as he looked at Spade.

"Good because it is my belief that this man will be able to give us the Intel to go after the nine and ten of clubs, which are higher priority contracts." Spade said as he looked at Harry.

"Spade are you planning on sending any more teams in search of Tiger and his team?" Tonks asked as she looked at him.

"No Panther at this point we will focus on getting the contracts, I hope to Merlin that we will be able to locate Tiger once we have managed to get the contracts." Spade said as he looked around the office at each person in front of him.

"What do we know about the Two of Clubs?" Harry asked as he thought about the current situation and the mission his team was about to go on.

"As I said he is a small time drug runner that bases his operation in New York City, yes before you ask that means the team is going to New York in the United States." Spade added as he looked at Harry knowing that was going to be his next question.

"The NSA has been looking into Jimmy Borden or the Ten of Clubs for his connection with known terrorists working within the United States. It is believed that Eldridge Homans may be working for him or had worked for him at one time." Dolphin said as she looked at Harry then at Spade.

"I also understand that there are CTU agents working on locating the terrorists' cells at this time. That is if my contacts were correct in the information they gave me." Shadow said as he looked at Dolphin for confirmation or refutation.

"Yes as I understand it the Counter Terrorist Unit out of New York City and Washington D.C. are working in conjunction with the NSA to locate and eliminate the terrorists' cells, but CTUs from all over the country has been given the task of finding them as well."

"Are these CTU agents going to be a problem in our mission?" Tonks asked as she looked to Spade, Dolphin, and Shadow for answers.

"I hope that the CTU agents won't be a problem, but if they are then they will have to be dealt with. Nothing can prevent you from completing the mission." Spade said as he looked at Tonks and then at the rest of Harry's team.

"CTU shouldn't be a problem, but if they start to get to close to our mission I will get in contact with the NSA and have the CTU agents pulled out. As far as the NSA knows I am on a mission to bring down the terrorists, so I should have no problem getting the CTU off of us." Dolphin said as she looked at Spade.

"As I said they must be dealt with any way necessary to complete your mission. The Two of Clubs shouldn't be that hard to get a hold of since he is so small on the list of people we are looking at. The problem for the authorities is that they never can catch in him the act and therefore haven't been able to apprehend him. Lucky for us we don't have to catch him selling drugs, we just have to catch him, and then we will get what information we need out of him." Spade said as he handed the file on the guy to Harry. "Your team will be set up in a two bedroom penthouse in New York, which will be used as your temporary base of operations until you have managed to apprehend this guy."

"So what do we do when we have this guy?" Harry asked though he was sure of the answer already.

"Once you have apprehended the target you will bring him back here. I will have a team check him out and find out what he knows about our other targets, and then after I am sure we have all his information I will turn him over to the man whom contacted me about this contract and collect our payment."

"Not to be rude, but just how much of the contract money do we get since we are the ones going after the contract." Tonks asked since she was in need of money until she managed to make some working as an Unspeakable.

"The organization, meaning me, takes ten percent of the contract's value. The rest is divided among the members of the team that brings in the contract."

"That means we would get roughly 1,165 Galleons for this contract then." Dolphin said in a shocked tone.

"That's more than I make in a month." Fox said to no one in particular.

"Yeah me too" said Dolphin as she looked at Spade.

"Well this is a small contract mind you, the bigger ones will yield you even more if you get the target. That is why it is important that you get them." Spade said as he looked at the team.

Harry didn't really care how much he made off the contract his main concern was getting these muggles off the street before they could cause any real damage. "Is there anything else that we should know before we leave?"

"No you have the complete file there at your disposal Wolf. It has all the information in it that we have been able to compile together on your target." Spade said as he stood up to see the team out. "Good luck and happy hunting."

"Thank you sir" Harry said as he stood up to shake Spade's hand. "We will bring this guy in as soon as we find him." Harry turned to his team. "Okay all of you go get what you will need and pack enough for a few days since we don't know how long this mission will take. Also Fox and Panther make sure to change into something muggle since we are going into a muggle area." Dolphin was already dressed in muggle attire, so Harry didn't have to tell her as he turned to look at her. "Dolphin I have to make you a Portkey to the temporary base my team has been using. You will be able to meet us there when you're ready to go."

Harry made a Portkey for Dolphin and then left like the others to go get what he needed for the weekend, since he knew no matter what he was going to have to head back to England on Monday morning. After getting the clothes that he would need he headed back to the house they used as a base to wait for the rest of his team. It didn't take long for Dolphin and Tonks to arrive at the house, but Ginny took a bit longer. When she arrived the four members of Harry's team used the Portkey that Spade gave Harry to go to a safe location about two blocks from the hotel where they would be staying for the weekend at least.

The team made their way down the sidewalk in silence towards the hotel. They could tell by the surrounding people and buildings that they were definitely in a muggle part of town. Harry was glad that him and his team were dressed in muggle attire, since there were so many of them out and about.

"I have never seen so many muggles at one time." Ginny whispered to Harry as she walked up beside him.

"We are almost there, just act natural." Harry whispered back as they continued their journey down the sidewalk towards the hotel.

Once they reached the hotel Harry walked up to the registration booth where a young girl stood. He looked at her and smiled.

"Do you have a reservation?" The girl asked as she looked at Harry.

"Yes I do, it should be under Mr. Wolf. The penthouse has been reserved for me and my guests." Harry said calmly as he looked at the girl.

The girl hit a few buttons on the keyboard and then looked at Harry and smiled. "Yes sir Mr. Wolf we do have your reservation here and it is all taken care of." The girl said as she pulled up an envelope. "Here are your room keys, have a nice weekend."

Harry took the envelope and thanked the girl before leading his team towards where the elevators were located. They took the elevator up to the floor where their room was located and made their way to their room. Harry opened the envelope and found two cards inside it.

"Um anyone know how to use these?" Harry asked quietly to the three women with him.

Dolphin took the card from Harry's hand and showed all of them how to use the key card to get into the room without saying a word. After the door was opened they made their way into the room and found that it was quite nice.


	5. Shocking Death

**A/N: I said I would try to get an update out faster than before, and I think one week's wait is far better than the months it took before. i will try to get the next chapter up within a week, but I make no promises.**

Thanks to **Patrick (The Rat Killer) **and** Blain (Cypher)** for betaing the chapter.

**Chapter Five: Shocking Death**

The penthouse that Spade reserved for Harry's team was one of the best in all of New York City, which led to question how much he shelled out for it. Though the team wasn't worried about that as they settled into their temporary base. Harry and Tonks took one of the bedrooms while Dolphin and Ginny shared the other bedroom.

The team woke up early Saturday morning before the sun even rose as they were all fully trained and used to early morning wake up calls. They were seated at the table in the kitchen of the penthouse deciding what they wanted to order for breakfast, having coffee, and discussing the mission at hand.

"The first thing I think we should do since we are a team is introduce who we really are. I know the Jade Scorpions like to keep their agents continental and for the most part I agree. However if we are going to be working together for any length of time I think we should know who we are working with." Harry said as he looked at the three women sitting at the table with him.

"That's a good idea, even though I already know two of you, Dolphin is the unknown." Tonks said as she shifted from the appearance of Panther to one she uses as Tonks. "I don't like my first name, so I wont say it, but you can call me Tonks."

"I'll go next, just like Tonks I know who Wolf and Tonks are." Ginny said as she removed the glamour that she was using. "My name is Ginny Weasley."

"I'll go next since I am the leader and should have gone first." Harry said as he shifted from Silver Wolf into his natural form. "I am Harry Potter."

Dolphin was a bit shocked at first when Harry said who he really was, but over came her shock rather quickly. She had heard about the legendary Boy-Who-Lived, but never expected to ever meet him, must less to have him leading a team that she was on. "My name is Crystal McConnell, it is very nice to meet all of you."

"Now that we know each other better we can move on to the mission that we are faced with." Harry said as he pulled out the folder that held all the information on their mission. "The profile on Eldridge Homans says that he normally doesn't operate until after noon, which gives us about seven hours to come up with a plan to use to apprehend this target."

"Do we know anything about his pattern of selling or where he might hang out?" Tonks asked as he took a drink of her coffee.

"it says here in the file that there was some surveillance done on him about a month or so ago. The New York Vice Squad was keeping a close eye on him, and was about to move in when he disappeared. It is said that he hangs out in a place called Tony's Pizza Palace, but he hasn't been seen there for a while. However since the squad quit trying to apprehend him, we might get lucky and find him there." Harry said as he looked over the file he was given.

"Has Spade done any surveillance on the target?" Ginny asked as she looked over a menu to pick what she wanted for breakfast.

"There is no record of him doing any surveillance in the file, so I would assume that he hasn't. If it looks like we might need some help then I will contact Blade about getting a team to do surveillance, but right now we are on our own." Harry said as he looked at Ginny.

"So we can keep an eye on this pizza place today and see if our target shows up there. Any other locations we should keep an eye on?" Crystal asked as she took a sip of her morning coffee.

"There was a pool hall called J.J.'s that he was also known to frequent, so we should probably check out that location as well. If he is around either of those places then we should be able to apprehend him rather quickly." Harry said as he looked at Crystal.

"What we need is a quick way to communicate that wont be suspicious around muggles." Ginny said as she sat down the menu she was looking at.

"Yes I was thinking about that since we won't be able to use owls or any form of magical communication while we are in the muggle area." Harry said as he looked at Ginny.

"What about using cell phones?" Crystal asked as she pulled her cell phone out of her pocket. "We use them in the NSA and I have even managed to get my boss in the Auror department to use one to contact me when I am on muggle missions."

"that's a good idea muggles wouldn't suspect anything, and they are a quick form of communication. I will contact Spade and see if he can get us three phones since you already have one Crystal." Harry said as he made a note to contact Spade.

"If we have the money we could probably get them pretty quick this morning." Crystal said as she looked at Harry. "It might also be wise to get a lap top and have it just in case, because computers are better to find people if I can tap into NSA surveillance."

"Okay make a list of any muggle technology that we might need. I am not familiar with a lot of it, but since you know how to use it I will put you in charge of that. Don't worry about the money factor as I can cover the expenses." Harry said as he looked at Crystal.

Crystal was just about to put her cell phone away and start on the list for Harry when her cell phone rang. She looked at the display and then stood up. "Excuse me, it's the head Auror."

Crystal walked into the bedroom that she shared with Ginny to take the call as Harry continued to talk to Tonks and Ginny. "Ginny I think it would best if you and Crystal checked out the pool hall today. I want you to keep an eye out for our target, while Tonks and I canvas the pizza shop."

Crystal came out bedroom with a worried and horrified look on her face. Harry saw her facial expressions first and stood up as he saw her. "Crystal what's wrong?"

"The American Minister of Magic has been assassinated." Crystal said numbly as she stood in place still shocked by what she was told on the phone.

Harry, Tonks, and Ginny all look as shocked as Crystal at the news. They don't know what to think or say as they stare at Crystal in silence. Harry is the first to break the silence after standing and staring at Crystal for a minute. "What? How?"

Tonks was still in shock as she looked at Crystal. "How could something like that happen?"

"Didn't he have a guard?" Ginny asked as she too was still in shock.

Crystal looked at the floor, and then slowly looked at Harry. "This is a loss that will be felt by all American witches and wizards. The Minister did have an Auror guard, but that shouldn't be a shock. What the real shock of the assassination is the fact that it was done by a muggle means. He was not killed by magic, he was shot to death using a muggle weapon."

Once again Harry, Tonks, and Ginny were shocked by what Crystal had to say to them. None of them knew what to think about the latest revelation. Harry knew what it meant to lose people he cared about or lost in general to those using magic, but to think that someone would kill the Minister of Magic in a muggle fashion was new to him.

"What did the Auror who was guarding the Minister say?" Harry asked as he looked at Crystal.

"The Auror who was on duty said that he was walking with the Minister to his car when he heard a loud bang. The next second the minister was on the ground. The Auror dropped down to check, but the Minister was already dead. He was hit right between the eyes, and was dead before he even hit the ground." Crystal said as she continued to look at the floor. "My boss is calling in all Aurors on duty and inactive on this. He wants to know why the minister was killed, and by whom."

"That's a good question why would anyone want the Minister dead?" Harry asked now over his shock and wanting to figure out the mystery at hand.

"Harry the American Minister was not like your Minister. Sorry to be rude, but Cornelius Fudge isn't much of a minister. Our minister was trying to bridge the gap between the magical world and the muggle world. He was working in conjunction with the United States President to bridge the gap." Crystal said as she looked at Harry.

"You're minister was on friendly terms with the muggle president?" Ginny asked shocked again since she knew for a fact that Fudge and the Prime Minister of England weren't on friendly terms.

"As far as I am aware of they were in fact friends, and so I wouldn't be surprised if the president doesn't get his own men to look into this death once he is notified of the assassination." Crystal said as she looked at Ginny.

"Crystal you said that your boss was calling in all Aurors, does that mean he wants you to report in as well?" Harry asked though he was sure of the answer.

"Yeah that is why he called me. He wants me to report directly to the Ministry of Magic in Washington D.C. for a full briefing on the situation." Crystal said as she looked at Harry.

"Do you know how long you will be gone?" Tonks asked as she looked at Crystal.

"I am not sure, but I will be back as soon as possible." Crystal said as she turned to look at Tonks.

"Okay Crystal head off to your briefing, hopefully you will be back in time to help with our mission. If not we will do what we can to locate our target." Harry said as he stood up and walked over to Crystal. "I am sorry for the loss your nation is suffering Crystal, but don't forget that we do have a mission that we are here to complete."

"I know Harry and I'll be back as soon as I can." Crystal said as she looked at her new teammates before Apparating off to meet with her boss.

Tonks walked up to Harry and placed her hand on his shoulder. "She knows that we are here for a reason Harry, but you know as well as I do. When you're an Auror your first duty is to respond when your Minister or nation is in trouble."

"I know and that is why I didn't stop her from going. After all if I was in her position I would respond like she did." Harry asked as he patted Tonks' hand with his.

"No you wouldn't Harry, if Fudge was killed, you would be too busy celebrating to respond." Ginny said with a slight snicker.

"Yeah you're probably right Ginny." Harry said with a laugh as he looked at Ginny.

"So what do we do now Harry?" Tonks asked as she went back to her seat at the table.

"Now we get breakfast and figure out how we want to approach our mission. We can't allow this assassination to set us back at this point. I know this sounds heartless, but truthfully we are not here to figure out why the American Minister was killed. We are here to bring in our target and that is what we must stay focused on at this point." Harry said as he sat back down at the table.

"We know that Harry and we are here to support you in that task. All we have to do is figure out our plan of attack and we will pull it off." Ginny said as she too sat down at the table to order breakfast.


	6. Problems

**A/N: Here is the next chapter, enjoy!**

This chapter was betaed by **Blain (Cypher)**

**Chapter Six: Problems **

**American Ministry of Magic  
**Crystal arrived inside the American Ministry of Magic atrium and went a past security to the elevator. Once inside she took the elevator to the sixth floor where the Magical Law Enforcement Agencies were located.

Crystal stepped out of the elevator and made her way down the hallway until she came to the door that said Auror Division. She opened the door and walked in, and once inside she froze in place to see the place as packed as it was.

Almost every American Auror past and present that were still alive was inside the office. There were people sitting, and standing all around that made the news of the Minister's death all too real for Crystal.

Crystal's boss, Daniel Faros, stood waiting for all the Aurors under his command to come to order before speaking. "Thank you all for responding so quickly in our hour of need. The death of our minister is going to be felt nation wide by all wizards, and it is a sad day indeed. However as Aurors we have a sworn duty to our country and that must come before our grieving. We must act quickly to figure out who killed our minister and why he was killed. I have already sent a team of veteran Aurors out to the scene where the minister was killed in the hopes that we would find anything to aid us in our manhunt. As some of you are aware today was to be a historic day for our kind, as our beloved minister was going to meet with the President of the United States to strike up a peace between our two worlds. However that will not be able to happen at this time, right now what we must focus on is supporting our people in this time of sadness, and prepare for the coming of a new minister."

After his speech to the whole group of Aurors he made his way to individual ones to give them assignments as he had to. He walked up to Crystal and gave her a halfhearted smile. "I am glad you could come Crystal I know your busy with NSA matters, but this was important."

"I know it is Daniel, and I got here as quick as I could." Crystal said as she looked at her boss. "What can I do to help?"

"I was hoping since you are acquainted with muggles working with the NSA that you would come along with me and Auror Nostaw when I have to meet with the President to brief him on the assassination of our minister.

"What?" Crystal asked a bit shocked to be asked to go with the head Auror to meet with the president. "Yes of course I will go Daniel if that is what you want."

"Good he should be arriving after seven this morning, so I will let you know when he is here." Daniel said as he made his way to leave to finish dishing out orders for the rest of the Aurors he called in.

Penthouse, Saturday 7am 

After they finished their breakfast Harry, Tonks, and Ginny started to look over their plan for the day. It was supposed to be a simple surveillance detail with Harry and Tonks taking one location and Ginny and Crystal taking the other. However with Crystal now off meeting with the Head of the American Magical Law Enforcement they were a team member short.

"Are we going to change the plan since we aren't sure if Crystal will be back in time?" Ginny asked as she looked over at Harry.

"At this point I am hoping that Crystal will be back in time to help with the surveillance. However if she isn't then we will alter the plan a bit. Tonks will go with you to the Pizza Palace and I will go to the pool hall alone since we don't know what to expect there."

Harry stood up from the table and paced a bit before continuing. "We also need to get in touch with Spade and see if any of his contacts here have muggle cars. We will be needing them since we won't be able to use magic in this muggle environment."

"I'll take care of that if you want Harry. Should I also inform him about the resent assassination?" Tonks said as she stood to stand by Harry.

"No he might pull the plug on this operation and we can't afford that now. We need to find out as much as we can as fast as we can." Harry said as he stopped pacing and looked at Tonks.

"Okay I will be back as soon as I can." Tonks said as she gave Harry a quick kiss and then pulled out her skull Portkey and used it to go back to Jade Scorpion headquarters.

"So what do we do now?" Ginny asked as she watched Tonks leave.

"I am afraid all we can do now is wait. Tonks shouldn't take too long to find out about the cars, and Merlin only knows when Crystal will be able to return from her meeting." Harry said as he walked over and sat down on the couch. "Might as well watch some telly while we wait."

Harry and Ginny watched sat watching television for about an hour before Tonks finally arrived back at the penthouse. Harry turned off the telly and went back to the table where they were discussing their plans to see what Tonks found out.

"So what good news do you have for me?" Harry asked as he looked at Tonks.

"Spade said that he will have a contact bring us two cars within the hour. He also advised that we keep a low magical profile, like we were planning. I had to give him a brief overview of what we were planning and that took a bit of time. Not to mention that I had to wait until he could locate two cars for us to use." Tonks said as she sat down.

"So what did the big man think of our little plan?" Harry asked cheekily.

"He thought it was a good idea to know what our target was up to before going in after him, but he also said to remind you that we don't know how much time Tiger has, so we should move on our target as soon as possible."

"Yeah that is true, but at this point all we can do is sit around here with our thumbs up our asses while we wait for our target to even show himself." Harry said as he looked at Tonks.

"I know you don't like waiting Harry, but right now that's our only option." Ginny said trying to defend what they were doing, which at this point was a whole lot of nothing.

"I wish Crystal was here, then at least we could get the muggle items that we need." Harry said as he looked around the room.

"Actually I was thinking about that Harry, and I know some about the muggle world, so I should be able to get what she thinks we need. Tonks said as she walked into the other room and sat on the couch.

Harry walked in and sat down on the couch beside her and draped his arm over her shoulder. "Well we will wait and see if Crystal shows, even if I hate waiting, right now I think that is the best bet, since we don't really know what she was thinking about getting."

Harry really wasn't one to like to do nothing he would rather go out and get the job done, but he knew he had no choice, but to sit and wait on this mission or else it would be for nothing.

**Penthouse 10:00a.m.**

Harry, Tonks, and Ginny sat watching television for over two hours killing time until they would be able to move out to the locations they were to stake out for their target. Harry stood up and started to pace during one of the many commercials that came on.

"This is getting us no where just sitting here!" Harry said in an aggravated tone as he continued to pace.

"I know luv, but we only have a few more hours and then we can move on with the mission." Tonks said as she looked at Harry.

"Harry if you want to do something to keep your mind off our wasting time, why not check and see if the cars Spade was to get for us have arrived?" Ginny said hoping to take Harry's mind off his problems.

"Good idea they should be here by now." Harry said as he walked over to the telephone to call down to the desk to see if anyone had dropped off any keys for him. However as he was about to dial the operator he heard the sound of a Portkey arriving. He turned in time to see Spade standing about two feet from him.

"Wolf, Panther, Fox, in the kitchen now we have a problem." Spade said as he made his way into the kitchen. "Where is Dolphin?"

"She had to go check out a matter at the ministry why?" Harry asked as he walked into the kitchen followed by Tonks and Ginny.

"What's wrong Spade? I know you didn't come all this way for no reason." Tonks said as she sat down at the table.

"This morning at 5:27 the American Minister of Magic, Allen Magana, was assassinated outside his home in Washington D.C." Spade said as he looked at all of them.

"Yeah we know, that is why Dolphin had to go to the Ministry. Her boss in the Auror department called her in."

"When was that?"

"Around six this morning why?" Tonks asked as she looked at Spade.

"Have you spoken to her since then?" Spade asked looking a bit concerned as if something was terribly wrong.

"She dropped in after eight this morning, maybe eight thirty or there abouts." Ginny said as she looked at Spade. "Why what's going on Spade?"

"Well you know that the minister was killed that is at least a start, though I am a bit disappointed that I had to hear this from a contact within the ministry instead of my ace team here on assignment. However that isn't the issue, what is the issue is that at 8:33 this morning the head of the Magical Law Enforcement office, Daniel Faros was gunned down as well."

"What! That is who Dolphin was meeting with how could he be killed with her there?" Harry asked shocked by this new development.

"Well if you say she came here around eight thirty or so, then it is most likely she was here when he was killed. That isn't the issue here either Wolf, the problem that we are facing right now is that the American Magical Council is going to be holding a meeting at eleven this morning. My contact within the Ministry has informed me that the council is meeting to decide if these assassinations were the act of muggle terrorist. That means that they are voting on whether or not to go to war with the muggles in America!"

"What can we do? We aren't American, but we have to do something to prevent this war." Harry said as he looked at Spade.

Just as Spade was going to reply they heard the pop of an Apparation in the living room, and then they saw Crystal walk out into the kitchen. She looked at Spade and then at Harry with a look of great concern on her face. "Harry we have a problem!" she said as she made her way towards the table.

"I know Crystal Spade has already informed us about the impending war that could be taking place." Harry said as he looked at Crystal and then at Spade.

"Dolphin I won't even ask why you are not using Wolf's codename or how you know who he really is. What I will ask is what do you know about this meeting and what are the muggles doing about the person or people who killed the minister and head Auror?" Spade asked as he looked at Crystal.

"Sorry sir, but your right this isn't the time to go into that. What I do know is that CTU managed to apprehend the man who assassinated both the Minister and Daniel, but the man was killed after they brought him in."

"What?" Harry and Tonks both asked out of shock at the same time.

"There is a terrorist behind the shooting we are sure of that, but all we could get out of the shooter was that it was a man named Wee. CTU has a special team working on it now, one that knows about the magical world and are trying to get answers as quickly as possible. The president personally asked that I come here and see if I could get help with preventing the war from taking place or at least delay it long enough for them to find the terrorists that hired the shooter."

"With the shooter dead we don't have a lot to go on for preventing this war, but I am hopeful that my ace team will be able to figure out something. My contact suggested that I pull all non-American teams out of the states until this blows over, but as you know I can't pull you out."

"We wouldn't go willingly even if you tried Spade." Harry said firmly. "We will do what we can to prevent this from escalating into a full blown war, though like you I don't see how we are going to pull this off without the shooter as leverage."

"I am sure you will find a way, after all Harry, you have managed to live this long with the threat of death following you everywhere you go." Tonks said with a slight chuckle though the thought of Voldemort made her skin crawl and to think about the fact that the evil prat was still after Harry made her sick.

"Yeah I suppose so, just wish I knew how exactly." Harry said with a chuckle of his own as he looked at Tonks. He then turned his attention back to Spade. "I know you wanted this to be a small operation sir, but I believe it is a good time to bring in the other two I wanted for this team, or at least one of them for sure."


	7. Before the Meeting

**A/N: Here is the next chapter.**

**Chapter Seven: Before the Meeting**

Spade looked at Harry and knew he should allow him whatever he wanted to insure that this matter was handled in a peaceful manner, but he didn't like the idea of bringing two untrained strangers into this situation. "Wolf I am sure that you can do this without any more people being involved, especially two that are not familiar with what we are about."

Harry knew that Spade wasn't going to willingly allow him to bring them in, but he also knew that he would need Hermione's help since she was best suited to help figure this problem out. "Spade I know you don't want strangers in the group, but you have to understand that one of the people I want to bring in will hopefully be able to help me figure out the mess these people are in." Harry turned and looked at Tonks "Panther do you think I am wrong for wanting one of the smartest witches in all of Britain to come help us?"

"I think I know who you mean and if I am right, then you are correct in wanting her to help us. Though Spade does have a point about her not knowing what the organization is about and that we are who we are."

"Fine we don't tell her who we are working for. The team here already knows each other's real names, so we bring her in to help with the situation using our real names. If it turns out she can't or wont help us then we oblivate her mind and send her home!"

"You win Wolf" Spade said as he stood up. "You can bring in this witch, but if she becomes a danger to us at any point I will not hesitate in having the problem solved."

"Understood sir" Harry said as he stood up to shake Spade's hand.

"I will have two of my agents go get her if you tell me who she is and where to locate her." Spade said as he looked at Harry.

"I don't think that is too wise there Spade, after all you want to keep the organization out of this so keeping a low profile would be called for here." Harry said as he looked at Spade. "It would be best if Fox went to get her since the witch does work for her."

Ginny wasn't a dumb witch, and she figured who Harry was talking about. "No problem I am sure I can get her to come without much trouble."

Spade nodded at Ginny and then looked at Harry. "You are in charge Wolf and I trust you to do what is best to complete both missions."

"Don't worry sir we will handle it" Harry said as he watched Spade pull out a Portkey to leave.

"Fox if you care to join me you can head back to London with me." Spade said as he held out the Portkey for her to come along.

"I will be back as soon as I can Harry." Ginny said in a low voice to him as she went over to go with Spade back to London.

"Do hurry we don't have much time." Harry said as he watched Ginny disappear with Spade back to London.

"Harry what is the plan?" Tonks asked as turned to him with concern in her eyes.

"Right now we have two separate missions to focus on. " Harry said as he turned his attention to the pressing matters. "Crystal I need you to go get the muggle technology that we need. Tonks we will need to get what information we can ready because we will have to brief Hermione quickly when she arrives, since we won't have much time." Harry turned to look at the file on the table. "We still need to catch our target if possible, but the primary objective now is to eliminate the immediate threat of war."

Crystal nodded after getting her orders and headed off to get the cell phones and other muggle items that she felt they need to aid them in their hunt for the targets and also with the pending threat.

Tonks went into the kitchen and started to put the information they knew about the assassinations and the pending meeting into a file for Hermione to look over once she arrived.

Harry knew that time was not on their side in this situation and the more they wasted on Hermione the less chance they had of preventing this war. Harry looked at his watch and prayed to Merlin that they could get there in time.

**Department of Mysteries  
**Once Ginny arrived with Spade back in his pub in Knockturn Alley she Apparated to her office at the Department of Mysteries. It was Saturday so she knew the place wouldn't be too busy, but she hoped that Hermione would have come into work today.

She went to her fireplace to call down to Hermione's department and prayed that she would be there. It took a moment, but then Ginny saw Hermione walking towards the fireplace. "Hermione we need to talk please report to my office."

Ginny pulled her head of the fireplace and moved away to wait for Hermione to get to her office. Hermione didn't waste any time flooing to Ginny's office, when she got the message.

"Ginny what's wrong?" Hermione asked as she brushed off her robes, and it took her a moment to realize that Ginny was dressed in muggle attire. _'What in the hell is going on here?'_ Hermione asked herself as she looked at Ginny.

"Mione I am glad you were here, I was afraid you would have actually listened to me for once and took the day off like most people do." Ginny said in a rushed voice as she looked at Hermione.

"Come on Gin what's going on? You didn't just call me here to see if I came to work did you?"

"No, I need you to come with me Mione, it is important that you just come along and all will be explained when we get there and we are running out of time."

"Ginny you're scaring me, what's wrong? Is Ron okay?"

"It isn't Ron Hermione…"

"Oh no not Harry again…"

"It involves him, but I assure you that he is fine, but we really need to go. Please Hermione just come along we are running out of time." Ginny said as she pulled out a ring that she was to use to get back to New York.

"I don't like the idea of going into something unknown Gin and you know that, so you're going to have to explain this too me a bit more."

Ginny walked over closer to Hermione and looked her in the eyes. "I don't have time Hermione, you trust me right luv?"

"Of course I do, but…"

"Then trust that nothing bad will happen to you by going with me now. I could order you too since I am your superior, but I really would like you to go because you trust me and not because I forced you."

"You win Gin, I really have no choice. Though I want it noted that I don't like going into things blind and not knowing what in the hell is going on."

"Dually noted, now you best transfigure your attire into muggle wear unless you have muggle clothes under your robes and come on because I am not joking about our limited time."

Hermione laughed slightly as she looked at Ginny and grinned. "Just like you to find a reason to get me out of my robes."

Ginny blushed and laughed slightly knowing that she didn't have time to waste. When Hermione removed her robes to reveal a muggle shirt and jeans under the robes, Ginny pulled out the ring once more. She waited for Hermione to place her robes neatly on the chair in the office, and then she touched the ring and Ginny activated the Portkey.

**Penthouse**

With a resounding thud Ginny and Hermione landed in the living room of the penthouse. Hermione laughed slightly as she stood up after winding up on her backside.

"Okay Gin I trusted you and came, now will you please explain what we are doing in this…room?" Hermione said as she looked around the room totally baffled at where they were.

"It might be best if I explain it." Harry said as he walked out of the kitchen into the living room.

"Harry" Hermione said as she went to him and hugged him tightly.

"A…I…R" Was all Harry managed to get out in strangled bursts, but it was enough for Hermione to realize what was wrong and release him from the hug she had him in.

"It's so good to see you, especially now since you have been hiding from society since your return."

"Yeah sorry about that, but right now we have other urgent matters to worry about."

"What's going on Harry?"

"What I am about to tell you Hermione is classified, and you can only know if you swear a wizard's oath not to reveal anything to anyone that isn't part of this."

Hermione looked at Ginny and saw her nod, and then she saw Tonks walk out of the kitchen and stand by Harry. Nothing at this point was making much sense to her, but she knew she only had one choice if she wished to find out anything. "I Hermione Granger-Weasley here by swear on my magic as a witch not to reveal anything I am told to anyone outside of those who are allowed to know."

There was a slight flash as the magical oath took effect and then Harry grinned and started out towards the kitchen. "Hermione, Tonks and I have put a file together for you to look over to brief you on the situation that we are facing. We are short on time here Hermione and you are one of the smartest witches I know, so I am hoping you can help us."

Hermione didn't say anything as she was handed a folder with the information inside it. She opened the file and quickly scanned the first page, which gave her a brief overview of the situation. She gasped as she read about the assassinations, and about the pending threat. "Harry how are we going to prevent a war?"

"I don't know, but I am hoping that we can come up with something fast because in less than fifteen minutes the council will start their first meeting, which is open to the public, to get the public's view on what has happened. After that they will go into a closed door session where they will debate going to war or not based on what is brought up at the meeting."

"Let me look over this file and then we will see where we can go from there, but honestly Harry it doesn't look good. Though I have to ask why are we meddling in the affairs of the American Ministry of Magic?" Hermione said as she sat down and placed the open folder on the table.

"At this time I can not reveal the true nature of our helping them, but rest assured that what we are doing is for the betterment of all wizards. You're smart enough to figure out what the ramifications would be if we did not prevent this war."

"Tell me this Harry do you think You-Know-Who is behind this?"

Harry felt a bit angered that after all the years he had known Hermione, she was still unable to get her to speak Voldemort's name. "The thought had crossed my mind, and it is quite possible because if war broke out it would be easier for him to get followers."

There was a slight pop heard as Hermione was looking at the file she had been given, she was a bit startled by it, but relaxed when she saw that Harry and Tonks weren't alarmed.

"Don't worry Hermione that is probably the other member of the team." Harry said as he stood up and walked into the living room.

"Harry I managed to get the cell phones you needed, but it will take a bit more time for me to get a good enough lap top to use." Crystal said as she sat the bag down on the table that she had been holding.

"That's fine Crystal, Hermione's in the kitchen looking at the Intel on the mission." Harry said as he directed Crystal into the kitchen area of the penthouse.

"Hermione I would like you to meet Crystal she is working with us and her fellow Aurors to prevent this war from happening, though at this point I think it is a fruitless effort." Harry said as he looked at the ground.

"I wouldn't give up hope just yet."

"What do you mean? Did you find something that would help us?" Harry asked as he looked up at Hermione.

"Possibly, though I wish I had more time to look into it more thoroughly, but I do believe it will help us in the end." Hermione said as she looked at the file in front of her. "All we need to do is buy us enough time to prove that not all muggles are looking to kill wizards, and that the terrorist attacks weren't part of some muggle conspiracy."

"How do we do that?" Crystal asked as she looked at the new woman, whom was introduced as Hermione.

"Anyone know how we can get a hold of the United States President?" Hermione asked as she looked at those near her. "That would be the easiest way I see of convincing the council that muggles aren't the enemy as a whole."

"Leave that to me" Crystal said as she looked at Hermione. "You may have to stall the meeting for a bit, but I will get him there as soon as I can."


	8. American Council Meeting

**A/N: I am sorry for the major delay on this chapter, and I hope that the next will not take nearly as long as this one did to complete.**

**Chapter Eight: American Council Meeting**

"Why didn't I think of this before?" Hermione mumbled to herself as she made her way into the American Ministry of Magic with a book in her hands.

"What is it Hermione?" Harry asked as he followed her into the ministry along with the rest of his team behind him.

"No time right now Harry, you will find out when everyone does, I really need to confirm what I thought of before we go into the meeting."

Ginny walked up by Hermione and glanced over at her with a glint in her eyes. "You will need to confirm it quickly Mione, the meeting is already started."

"I know, and I have a plan on how to bring this to a peaceful end." Hermione said as she made her way into the meeting hall where the public trial was being held.

Harry prevented Tonks from entering the hall, and pulled her off to the side. "I know this is our primary mission now, but our target will be coming out soon, and if we miss him today we may not get another shot at him."

"I know, but right now we must focus on this, if Hermione manages to pull this off then we may just have enough time to go after our target." Tonks said as she looked at Harry with concern in her eyes.

Harry and Tonks made their way into the hall after a quick hug to comfort each other a bit. As the walked in they found that the council meeting was already underway. The acting council member that was filling the position of the American Minister was already addressing the people in the hall.

"We can not take this attack on our ministry laying down." The acting minister said as he addressed the people. "If we allow them to get away with murdering our beloved minister and Head Auror then we are no better than they are. However I am willing to hear what the people think about this as it concerns them as much as us."

"If I might speak for a moment your honor." Hermione said as she stood up.

"The floor is open to any who wish to speak, so please come up and address the council."

Hermione made her way down to the podium in front of the council members. "Thank you for this opportunity to address this council. My name is Hermione Weasley, and I am an official from the British Ministry of Magic."

"Wait a minute what is an official from the British ministry doing here? This is of no concern of theirs this is a personal matter!" a man on the council said as he stood in protest, which brought a response from the American crowd.

"Jacob calm down" the acting minister said as he got the man to sit down. "Miss Weasley, though I do not condone Jacob's outburst, I must agree that this is an American matter, and there are no grounds for you to be here."

"I beg to differ your honor" Hermione said as she looked at the acting minister. "As you should be aware, the global protection act of 1780 states that at any time when it becomes apparent that a war between wizards and muggles could ensue, it is the right of a higher ministry to prevent the war to ensure that the secrecy of our world remains in tack."

"Mrs. Weasley, I am familiar with that bylaw, however I am interested in how an official from the British ministry learned of this, as we have not left any notice of this matter leave our ministry."

"How I learned of this situation is not the issue here, what the issue is trying to protect our world from being exposed to the muggles of the world."

"Why are you here Mrs. Weasley, why isn't Minister Fudge here if your minister is so concerned about public exposure?" Jacob asked in a more sensible tone, but it was clear that he was not happy with her being there.

"In all honesty I doubt that Minister Fudge even has a clue about what is happening in England let alone what happens here..."

"then if he is unaware of our situation then why should we consider your petition?" Jacob asked.

Hermione knew that he was right, he had the right to fight her petition to prevent the war since Fudge didn't know of the coming war, he was oblivious to his own country let alone anyone else's. "You are right I am not here on the order of Minister Fudge" Hermione said as her mind raced for a solution and then her eyes fell upon Ginny and she grinned. "Minister Fudge is not the one who is responsible for me being here, truth be told that lousy minister is in no position to send me anywhere. The truth is I am here on behalf of the Department of Mysteries. I assume that you know what that means, am I correct?"

"First you're an official for the ministry, and now you wish us to believe that the mysterious DoM sent you here to try and talk us out of going to war?" Jacob said in a tone that told he didn't believe her and that he was not happy with her intrusion.

"Mrs. Weasley he has a point, and unless you can clarify just what grounds you have to petition this council I will be forced to reject any information that you bring before this council."

"First let me clarify this point, I said I was an official from the Ministry, I did not say I was here on their behalf. Second I have solid grounds for this petition, as stated before with the bylaw that all ministries must obey."

"Mrs. Weasley I agree that you didn't say you were here on behalf of your ministry, and the bylaw is in place to protect the secrecy of our world. However to enforce the bylaw there must be some proof that your ministry wishes to enforce it. Since you have admitted to this council that your minister is oblivious, to use your term, to what our situation here is, I do not see how the bylaw can be enforced."

"first off your honor, I have stated that I am here on behalf of the Department of Mysteries and as you should know the head of said department has standing above the Minister of Magic if the situation warrants it. This situation warrants it for the mere fact that the British Minster of Magic is a bumbling fool who has one foot out the door and the other on a sheet of ice. Minister Fudge is not fit to hold his position as such the head of the DoM has every right to protest this war."

"Are you the head of the DoM" Jacob asked as he glared at Hermione.

"No sir I am not, but the department head happens to be my sister-in-law and she is here as well."

At the mention of her Ginny stands up from her seat to look at the acting minister. "I am Ginny Weasley and I am the head of the Department of Mysteries. I am the one who Hermione to come here and aid me in getting you to listen to reason. Do you not understand what would happen if you were to go to war with muggles. You not only would compromise our world's secrecy, but you would also be playing into Voldemort's hand!"

There was a collective gasp of shock as the dark lord's name was used. Sure people in he United States weren't plagued with him like those in England, but they knew about him to fear him. Harry however grinned as she said his name, because he didn't like his team or friends to be afraid of Voldemort's name.

"Its only a name, Merlin you people act as like you had to actually face the monster."

"Have you?" Jacob retorted though there was something in his eyes, which Ginny couldn't place.

"She might not have come face to face with that monster but I have!" Harry blurted out in rage before he even realized what he was doing.

All eyes fell on him and it took a moment for it to register with them just who exactly they were looking at. Then some of their eyes lit up with realization as to whom was speaking.

For the acting minister the sight of "the" Harry Potter was unbelievable. He never thought that he would ever have a reason to come anywhere near the Boy-Who-Lived. Sure he knew all about him, but to see him standing there in his hall was something remarkable. At that moment it became clear to him that there was more at stake then just their retaliation against the muggle or muggles that killed his friends. However he also knew he could not lose face in front of the council, and he couldn't make any decision until the council had time to discuss the matter in private.

"All the facts that you have presented here are compelling enough to warrant a review on our part. However no ministry officials will not force us into this and even the legendary Harry Potter doesn't have the grounds to squash this war. We are not a violent bunch by choice, but we do demand justice for what has happened today!"

"Going to war will not bring you justice minister, as the man responsible for killing both Minister Magana and Head Auror Faros was gunned down outside the CTU building where he was taken into custody once it was confirmed he was the gunman." Hermione said in an official tone of voice.

"It's a lie!" Jacob shouted as he stood up glaring at Hermione first and then he glared at Harry.

"Jacob calm yourself, Mrs. Weasley, a Hermione I mean if what you say is true then why is it only now that we have learned about this?"

"Honestly minister this is the first it came up, and I am sorry for not divulging this information prior to now."

"How do we know this isn't a lie, how do we know she isn't just saying this to make us lower our guard and not destroy the muggle scum that killed out beloved minister!" Jacob retorted not taking his eyes off Harry as he shouted.

"Jacob calm down!" the acting minister said as he glared at Jacob before he turned back to Hermione. "He has a point Mrs. Weasley, you have not shown any proof to support your allegations."

"Would you listen to the President of the United States?"

"If you were to bring the president on behalf of all American muggles before us, and tangible proof that the shooter is dead then we may halt going to war. However if you can not do this Mrs. Weasley, then we will vote on going to war as we planned."

"I will need some time to get the proof you require and the president will come as well I already sent an Auror to get him."

"I will grant you some time Mrs. Weasley, you have until one o'clock, this meeting is in recess until then."

"Minister if I may before you conclude, would it be possible to have the meeting with the president in private away from the public eye considering the nature of the information." Hermione asked, as the meeting was about to leave out.

"Certainly I think it would be wise to do so given all that has happened here today. One o'clock no later and you had better have the proof we ask for and not be wasting the council's time."

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief as she made her way over to Harry and the rest of her friends. She had managed to buy some time, but she was still concerned that it wouldn't be enough to prevent the war.


	9. The Target

**A/N: Sorry for the long delay, I know I say this all the time, but I truly am. I was planning on updating sooner, but things happened and I didn't feel like doing much at all, so wasn't on my pc every much. Thank you to all that have stuck by my long absences and still reviewed, your very kind. Once again I am sorry.**

**Chapter Nine: The Target**

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief as she made her way over to Harry and the rest of her friends. She had managed to buy some time, but she was still concerned that it wouldn't be enough to prevent the war.

Harry hugged Hermione and pulled her close "You did it Hermione, you may have bought us enough to prevent this war."

Hermione hugged Harry back and then pulled away to look at all of them. "We don't have a lot of time, and there is still a good bit to be done. Now I know you said you told me everything, and if you did then we will do what we can with what we have, but if you left anything, anything at all out, then now is the time to tell me."

"Hermione you know as much about this situation as we know, it was all in the file we gave you." Harry said as he looked at his friend, he knew better than to try and lie to her, as she was smart enough to see through any lies.

"Good, then I suggest that we go grab lunch and prepare for the next part of this hearing, as we aren't done yet." Hermione said as she started to exit the meeting hall.

Harry held Ginny and Tonks back as Hermione left "Ginny go with her and keep her busy while I speak with Tonks about our other mission."

"Got it captain" Ginny said with a grin as she raced out of the meeting hall after Hermione.

"Tonks I think it is time we went to see about our other guest and hopefully we will be able to catch him." Harry said in a hushed tone as him and Tonks walked slowly out of the meeting hall.

"We're not going to be able to cover both possible locations, and still keep a paired team together at the locations." Tonks said a bit worried since she knew Harry might try and do this on his own.

"I know, and I am sorry about that, but right now we have to stay focused. I want you to tag along with Ginny and Hermione and suggest that you eat at the pizza palace, that way you can see if he is there. I will head to the pool hall and see if he happens to showing up there. I will get in touch with you via the cell phone if I find him and you do the same, but if you see if don't do anything with Hermione there, just make an excuse and leave. Then you can tail the guy without anyone knowing." Harry said as they came to a stop outside the American Ministry.

"Be careful Harry I don't want to lose you again," Tonks said as she pulled Harry close to her in a hug and then kissed him on the lips.

Harry kissed her back and held her for a moment before pulling away "I will, and you do the same as I don't want to lose you either."

"I love you Harry."

"I love you too Tonks, now get going before the girls leave without you." Harry said with a grin as he looked over at the car Ginny and Hermione were sitting in.

Tonks gave Harry a quick kiss on the lips and then took off to catch up with Hermione and Ginny. She explained to them that Harry had something he needed to do, so they were to go get lunch on their own. He would call her when he was done, so they knew where he was.

Harry watched them drive off and then he started to walk down the street. The pool hall he was to check out was only three or so blocks from where he was and figured he could use the exercise. Harry ducked quickly into an alley out of sight and converted back into Silver Wolf. He figured that it would be easier to move around in the city if he didn't look like the Boy-Who-Lived.

**CTU Headquarters Washington D.C.**

Crystal made her way to the CTU headquarters where she knew she would find the president awaiting any news on the possible war that was pending. She was given the task of retrieving the president, and she knew that he would go with her. What she wasn't too sure of was how things were going at the council meeting.

As she walked through the checkpoint, where the guard had to check her I.D., her phone rang, the one that she knew only Harry's people had the number to. After clearing the guard station she walked into a restroom on the first floor to call Harry back.

"Harry" Crystal said as she heard Harry answer his cell phone when she called him back.

"Crystal how are things going there?" Harry asked as he spoke quietly into his cell.

"I am on my way to go see the president now, how are things at the meeting?"

"It is in recess until one o'clock, at which time we need to prove that the hit man was killed and also must have the president there to meet with the acting minister."

"I am sure I can get the president to come along, but what do you need to prove the shooter is dead?"

"I am not exactly sure, I suppose a picture of the dead man would work, but if you can get some documentation that the man is dead that would help as well."

"I will see what I can do and I will see you as soon as I can."

"I may not be at the council meeting as the "wolf" is out hunting for his prey."

Crystal didn't know what Harry meant by that at first and then it dawned on her what he was talking about. Harry was using a play on words to tell her that he was going after the target they were originally sent there to apprehend. "Be careful wouldn't want to lose the "wolf" because he decided to hunt alone."

"No worries he can manage, and if need be he knows his pack isn't too far out of touch."

Crystal took that as a sign that he meant his group and she hoped he was right since she didn't know where the rest of the group was or where he was for that matter. "Got to go, but don't try anything foolish."

Harry agreed to try not to as Crystal hung up her phone and then made her way out of the bathroom and toward the elevators. She made her way to the floor where the President was on and went right for the receptionist that was working for the President.

"Hope is the President free?" Crystal asked as she stood in front of Hope Leslie's desk.

"I believe so Agent Connell, shall I tell him that you need to see him?"

"Yes please it is rather urgent" Crystal said as she looked at Hope. She then stood and watched as Hope stood up from her desk and made her way over to the briefing room where the President was located.

Crystal could hear Hope as she spoke to the president "Agent Connell is here and she says it is important that she speaks with you."

**JJ's Pool Hall**

After Harry had called Crystal and brought her up to speed he continued his walk until he arrived outside JJ's Pool Hall, which was one of the possible locations that his target could have been at.

Harry made his way into the pool hall and took a look around. It was clear right away that there was more to this place than just a bunch of pool tables. There were different arcade games in the pool hall, which had kids of different ages playing them.

Harry looked around and didn't see his target anywhere in the hall, but he wasn't just going to walk away without waiting to see if he can get lucky and find his target. Harry walked over to the section of the hall where there is a bar and grill setup. He sat down on a barstool and looked at the waiter.

"What can I get ya friend?" the man behind the bar asked Harry as he sat down.

"I'll take a tea mate," Harry said as he looked at the guy.

"Ah an Englishman, nice, coming right up mate." The waiter said as he went to get Harry his tea.

Harry sat at the bar watching and listening to those in the pool hall if there was even a remote chance that he could complete his mission he was going to do it. Harry didn't need the money earned from this bounty, but he still wanted to take a scumbag like Eldridge Homans off the streets before he could kill someone with the poison he called drugs.

**Pizza Palace**

Tonks got into the car with Hermione and Ginny and got them to head for the Pizza Palace. It wasn't too hard to convince Ginny to go there since she knew that was one of the possible locations to find Homans, but Tonks still wasn't exactly sure what she was going to do if they did find him.

The three ladies made their way into the pizza palace and sat at a table by a big window, so Tonks would have a good view at the whole restaurant just in case their target made his way in for a slice.

"What can I get you ladies?" a waitress asked as she made her way over to their table.

"I'll have a slice of pepperoni pizza and a small coke" Hermione said as she looked at the waitress and the other two witches followed her example and ordered the same thing.

Tonks had been in muggle restaurant before and knew what to expect much like Hermione did, but Ginny on the other hand was raised fully in the wizarding world and wasn't sure what to do, and had no idea what she just ordered.

Hermione held in her laugh as she looked at Ginny's expression then she leaned closer for Ginny to hear her "don't worry you'll like it."

Ginny smiled as the three women waited for the lunches to arrive.

**JJ's Pool Hall**

Harry took a sip of his tea as he chanced a glance at the clock on the wall, which read 12:47. Harry looked once again around the pool hall and was starting to wonder if his assumption that the target would be there was off. His gut was telling him that he was right and that he just needed to wait patiently for him to arrive, but Harry wasn't the type to wait patiently for anything.

Harry was starting to believe he was wrong in his assumption, and his gut with each passing minute his hope of catching his target lessened. Then just as Harry finished his tea and was preparing to walk back for the one o'clock meeting he froze and watched as Eldridge Homans walked into the pool hall.

Harry left out the breath he didn't know he was holding and sat back down on the stool. He kept a careful eye on his mark as he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. He quickly dialed a number and waited with baited breath for her to answer.

It took a few rings before he heard Tonks answer her phone "hey its me, and I must say the view is nice today."

Tonks wasn't sure what he was talking about at first, but then she recalled what he was doing. "hold on, I need to get a better signal" Tonks lied as she stood up and walked away from Hermione and Ginny. "Ok I am clear, so is he there?"

"Yeah and I am going to stick around for a while, so can you go shopping by yourself?"

Tonks was a bit puzzled a moment and realized that Harry must have been near people and unable to talk freely about what was going on. "Sure I will go out with the girls and get the errands done, but what about you? Don't you want some company while you are there?"

"Sure I would love you to stop by, but make sure the girls get where they need to first."

"Okay I will go with them and then come meet you, I will be there as soon as I can, so don't do anything stupid."

"no worries honey, see when you get here" Harry said as he closed his cell phone and caught the waiter staring at him. "Could I please get another tea while I wait for my girlfriend to come." Harry said in a colder tone than he intended, but he clearly wasn't happy that the man behind the bar was listening to him on the phone.

"Sure thing" the man behind the bar said as he realized he had been caught listening in on the conversation.

**American Ministry of Magic**

Tonks had gone with Hermione and Ginny in the car as they made their way back to the ministry, so they could attend the meeting. However when she got out she looked at them with a perplexed expression on her face.

"Something wrong?" Hermione asked as she looked at her friend's expression.

"I just remember I was suppose to go pick up Harry, damn and it is almost time for the meeting."

Ginny caught a gleam in Tonks eyes that told her that wasn't the whole truth and in combination with the phone call she figured that Harry found the man they were looking for at the pool hall. "How about you go get him while Hermione and I get to the meeting and find Crystal."

"I suppose I could do that" Tonks said with a slight smile "I will meet you here as soon as I can."

Hermione and Ginny gave Tonks a quick hug and then raced off into ministry to find Crystal and the American president before the meeting was to start. Tonks got back into the car behind the wheel this time and headed off to meet with Harry and hoped she wasn't too late.

**A/N: I have had some people ask when I was going to show what Voldemort was up to, and I must say I am unsure it may be next chapter or the one following, but I promise it will come up soon. Also people have stated that the story is moving slow, and I admit that it is, and so hopefully it will pick up pace in the next few chapters.**


	10. Contract Complete

**A/N: Sorry for the delay, I know I am full excuses and for that I am sorry. I hope cross fingers that I can come up with the next update faster than I did this one.**

**Chapter Ten: Contract Complete**

Harry sat at he bar drinking his tea slowly as he kept a watchful eye on the man whom he had been hunting for. Harry knew he would need to work a way to get Eldridge Homans without causing too much of a disturbance. He also knew that Tonks was on her way to help him, but he didn't know how long their "mark" would stay or how long it would take her to meet him.

Harry got his answer a moment later as he caught sight of Tonks, in her Panther persona, walk into the pool hall. It became clear to Harry that Eldridge had caught a glimpse of Tonks as well, and Harry felt a slight twinge of jealousy as he watched him stare at Tonks. That was when it hit him how he could get this guy, even if it did mean causing a bigger disturbance than intended

Tonks had driven up to the pool hall, which really wasn't that far from the council hall to meet up with Harry. Before she got out of the car she made sure that she took on the disguise of Panther for this mission, though she knew no one around her knew her. She made her way to the pool hall and stood at the door as she peered into trying to get a glimpse of the layout before making her way inside.

Tonks took a deep breath and blew it out before opening the door, and then she walked into the pool hall. One quick glance as she entered the building gave her a pretty good idea what was around. She caught sight of their "mark" as he was standing by a pool table not far from where she came in talking to another guy. She had also caught sight of Harry, Silver Wolf, sitting at the bar sipping on what she figured had to be tea. When she caught Harry's eyes though she could have sworn for a second there was a flash of jealousy and rage in his eyes, but it was soon replaced by a determined look. As she glanced at Eldridge again she figured out why, as she realized the scumbag was staring at her.

Tonks only had a split second to take in what was happening as Harry bolted up off the stool he was on and made a beeline for Eldridge. Harry shoved Eldridge into the side of the pool table making the man hit his back off the pool table "what ya think your doing checking out my woman!"

Tonks just stared for a moment lost in what exactly was happening, but when Harry spoke she started to realize what was going on or at least she hoped she was right, which the Auror in her told her she was. Tonks took on a determined look as she went over and shoved Harry off the "mark". "Leave him alone, he wasn't doing anything" Tonks said as she stared at Harry.

"Shut up" Harry said as he got his balance "I will deal with you in a bit but first this asshole is going to find out why it is smarter to keep your eyes to yourself."

Tonks was a bit taken back by the rude, cold, and angry tone in which Harry spoke to her, but she was sure it was all part of some master plan he had, at least it had better been because if not he was going to get it from her "leave him alone!"

Harry took a step towards Tonks, but it was at this point that Eldridge came to his senses about what was happening and went right for Harry knocking him to the floor. Eldridge pinned Harry on the floor, though the man was strong Harry was sure he could have taken him, but it wasn't time for that yet.

"Take it outside" the barman said as he came out from behind the bar holding a baseball bat in his hand "I don't want any trouble in here."

Eldridge sent a fist down rather hard nailing Harry in the side of the head, and he realized that this guy could pack a punch. Eldridge got off him and went outside Tonks right behind him, as Harry pulled himself off the floor.

"I am so sorry" Tonks said as she caught up with Eldridge "my boyfriend is the really jealous type."

"Your boyfriend better watch who he puts his hands on or he could wind up getting hurt." Eldridge said and seemed ready to walk off without any further confrontation, which Tonks knew was a bad thing since they couldn't afford to lose him.

Tonks didn't have to worry too long though as Harry came bolting out of the pool hall and right for Eldridge "where you running off too, we aren't done yet!"

"Buddy I suggest" Eldridge started but didn't finish as Harry punched him right in the jaw causing the man to move back a few steps. Eldridge ran his hand along his mouth and found that he had blood coming out of it. "that wasn't smart" Eldridge said as he went to hit Harry, but this time Harry didn't stand and allow the man to connect, Harry used his quickness to dodge the man.

Eldridge missed with his swing and was thrown off balance and about fell, but some how managed to stay up right until the point where Harry's fist once again connect with his head sending him crashing to the ground.

Tonks watched on as Harry and Eldridge fought or more like Harry beat the hell out of their mark which was okay with her as she didn't like Eldridge's kind, not the part about him being muggle, what she didn't like was that he was a drug dealer pushing drugs on young kids. As she watched them she soon realized that she wasn't the only one as a group of people inside the pool hall gathered at the door and window trying to see the fight.

Harry had seen the audience he was attracting, which wasn't really part of his plan, and it meant that he couldn't just stun Eldridge and take him to Spade. No things had become complicated in a hurry, but Harry was use to his plans not working, since fate had a way of screwing up his even best laid out plan. So Harry decided to improvise, if he couldn't stun the man, he would have to knock him out the muggle way.

Tonks knew the crowd was going to be trouble as they couldn't very well use magic to get them out of the situation, not with all the muggles staring at the fight. "That's enough" Tonks said sternly as she pushed Harry away from the prone Eldridge "I think you did enough damage for one day!"

Harry was taken a bit off guard at what Tonks was saying, but figured she had a reason, and sure enough as he moved away from Eldridge the people staring at them started to go back to what they were doing. The fight to them was over, so there was no point in wasting their time looking out at them now.

Tonks bent down in what looked to Harry as if she was checking on Eldridge's condition, but as she glanced up at him he realized what she was doing. She had placed a Portkey on the body, and was looking for a chance to use it.

Harry looked at the window to the pool hall and didn't see anyone standing there, and after a glance around them, he found that they were alone for the moment. Harry looked at Tonks and gave her a nod and a smile.

When Tonks saw Harry nod she smiled back and quickly activated the Portkey, which took her and Eldridge back to the penthouse they were using as a base. When they landed in the living room Tonks took out her wand and first stunned Eldridge for good measure, then cast a binding curse on him, so he couldn't move even if he wanted to.

**American Ministry Meeting**

Ginny and Hermione had made their way into the council hall and went to the room where the meeting was being held. As they came closer they saw Crystal sitting on a bench outside the hall doors.

"Crystal" Ginny said as she made her way toward her teammate.

"Hey" Crystal said as she was brought out of her own thoughts at the mention of her name, and then realized who had spoken to her. Crystal stood up off the bench in front of Ginny and Hermione "where's Tonks and Harry?"

"Tonks went to get Harry" Hermione said before Ginny could say anything "did the meeting start?"

Crystal glanced at Ginny with a look that begged an explanation, but returned her attention to Hermione "they are in meeting with the American President as we speak."

"Why you out here then?" Ginny asked with a bit of concern in her voice.

"Was waiting for you guys, wasn't sure when you would get here after Harry called me."

"Harry called you?" Hermione asked a bit confused.

"Yeah" Crystal said then realized that Hermione didn't know about the call "he wanted an update on how I was doing on locating the president, and he filled me in on what had happened in the first meeting."

"Did you manage to get the proof for the meeting?" Ginny asked as she looked at Crystal.

"I hope so, Harry said that if I had some record of the death, then that might convince the council that the shooter is in fact dead. Plus the president did come willingly, so I think that will hold a bit of weight in their eyes."

"I hope so Crystal for all our sakes." Ginny said as she looked at Hermione and Crystal.

**Penthouse**

Harry Apparated into the penthouse once he found a spot that was out of the view of any muggles. When he arrived Tonks was standing over the "mark" and she was still in her Panther persona.

Harry walked over to Tonks and looked her in the eyes "I am sorry for what happened, but I thought it might work better than just asking him to come along peacefully."

"No need to apologize I know that it was all an act, and I am better trained than that, so don't worry I didn't take any of it personally. On the upside it did work and we did get the bastard, but now what do we do with him?"

"Now I believe we gather up our people and prepare to head back to England. I would like it if you could get the team together after the meeting with the council. I am going to go ahead of you, so I can take our "mark" in and complete this contract."

"Sure luv I can handle that, I will get them and meet you at the base." Tonks said as she kissed Harry on the lips "now get going before this scum wakes."

Harry grinned at her statement and then gave her a quick kiss before grabbing hold of Eldridge and activating the Portkey to take him back to Spade's office.

**American Ministry Meeting**

Crystal had gone back inside to see how the meeting was going while Hermione and Ginny waited out in the hallway.

Ginny grinned at Hermione as she sat by her on the bench "you were brilliant in there today."

"At least one of us thinks that" Hermione said as she sat by Ginny "I was worried I would blow the whole thing, and make things worse."

Ginny reached over and took her friend's hand and squeezed it gently "you couldn't make things worse, we knew that you could do it, that's why we got you. You just don't give yourself enough credit."

Hermione smiled at the comment and moved her other hand over to hold Ginny's hand that was holding her other hand. "Let's just hope that all goes as planned or else we could still have a huge problem on our hands."

**Spade's Office**

Harry landed with the "mark" on the floor in front of Spade's desk making Spade jump a bit by the sudden arrival. "Wolf" Spade said as he looked at Harry "is that?"

"Yeah" Harry said as he stood up "this is the scum we were after, and I am turning him over to you now to complete our contract."

"Amazing how well your team can handle thing, I mean with the whole pending war and this scum." Spade said as he stood up and walked around his desk.

"Thank you sir, we do our best" Harry said hoping that Spade wouldn't continue to praise him and his team.

"That reminds me, where is your team?" Spade asked as he looked over the man bound on the floor.

"They will be along shortly" Harry said as he moved closer to the door away from the man he beat on.

"Wolf, you should rest up a bit" Spade said as he looked at Harry "I want you and your team in my office tomorrow to debrief."

"Yes sir, I will have my team here tomorrow" Harry said as he walked out of Spade's office. As he did an owl flew towards him with a parcel attached to its leg. Harry waits for it to land and then gently removes the letter. The owl sits staring at Harry as he unrolls the parchment.

Dear Harry,

Hey mate, I really need to talk to you. Could you meet me at the Three Broomsticks sometime today? Send your response back with the owl with a time if you can do it and I will meet you there.

Your Mate

Ron

Harry hadn't really considered what impact taking Hermione away with no warning would do. Though he didn't think this had anything to do with it, since she hadn't been gone all that long really. Harry wrote down a time to meet Ron and decided to go clean up before heading there to meet his friend.


	11. The Unknown

A/N: I know it has been a long time and all I can say is I am sorry.

**Chapter Eleven: The Unknown**

Harry wrote down a time to meet Ron and decided to go clean up before heading there to meet his friend.

After a quick shower Harry was ready to head out to meet up with his friend, he wasn't sure what Ron would want to speak to him about, but he figured he would go and see. After all they had been friends for a great many years and that didn't change just because they were no longer in school.

Harry landed in the Apparation point and then made his way to the three broomsticks where he was to meet his friend. As he walked into the pub he spotted his friend seated at a table in the back away from most of the patrons in the pub. He made his over through to his friend.

"Hey mate" Harry said as he sat down across from Ron.

"Hi" Ron said in a monotone sort of way which told Harry that things weren't so well in the world of Ronald Weasley.

"What's wrong mate" Harry asked out of concern for his friend.

Ron took a drink of his fire whiskey as he looked at his friend "I…I think..."

"You think what Ron, I can't help ya if you don't want to tell me what's bothering you."

"I think Hermione is cheating on me" Ron said as he polished off the rest of his fire whiskey.

**American Ministry Building**

Tonks made her way back to the American Ministry to meet up with the rest of the team, so she could tell them that they completed the mission.

"Did they render a verdict yet" Tonks asked as she sat down by Hermione and Ginny.

"Don't know" Hermione said as she looked at Tonks "Crystal went in a while ago to see how things were progressing."

"Well speak of the devil" Ginny said as she watched Crystal walk out of the room where the meeting was being held "how'd it go?"

"Well between Hermione's quick thinking and excellent speech and the fact that the American president came in to speak to them I would say it went very well. They still aren't happy about what happened, but the proposal for a full out war has been put on hold. I think we have done it ladies, I don't see us going to war over the events of the day."

"That's great" Ginny said as she stood up "so then we can head home then?"

"You can go" Crystal said as she looked at the others "I must escort the president back to ensure his safety." Crystal then paused as she looked at Hermione "thanks again Hermione if you hadn't come I don't think things would have gone in our favor."

"Glad I could help" Hermione said as she stood up from her seat.

**Three Broomsticks**

"What do you mean you think Hermione is cheating on you? We have known her since our first year; I don't see how that could be possible."

"I don't want to believe it either" Ron said as he motioned for another drink. "But the truth is I'm not so sure any more."

"What's happened to bring this on?"

"Things were good between us and I thought everything was great" Ron said and paused as he paid for his drink. He took a drink of his whiskey then continued "now though mate she just seems different. Take for instance today, she told me she had to work, so I dropped by to see her, but she wasn't even there."

"Umm mate…that's kind of my fault" Harry said as he looked at his friend.

"What do you mean?"

"I had a job that I needed some help with, so Hermione agreed to help me. She is with Ginny and Tonks finishing a few details up right now."

"Oh…well that only explains today, though she just seemed to change a lot. She is always at work, and doesn't seem to want to come home as much as when we were first married."

"This is Hermione mate, and she was always one to over work herself, hell look what she did in our third year at school."

Ron laughed slightly "yeah that's her alright, and maybe your right, maybe I have been taking things wrong."

"I think so mate, but if you are that concerned about it, why not try talking to her about it?"

"No, it would end in a fight no doubt, it is better left alone I suppose" Ron said as he downed his drink.

"Maybe you're right, look mate I would love to catch up on everything that's happened, but that job I mentioned before…"

"Go then" Ron said as he stared at Harry "good seeing ya mate, maybe next time it wont be about something so gloomy."

"Yeah" Harry said as he stood up "good seeing you too, when we all have a free day we should get together for drinks or maybe dinner."

"Yeah that would be fun" Ron said as he stood up "I'll walk out with ya."

American Ministry Building

Crystal left the three other ladies as she went off to escort the American President back to his office. She didn't think there would be any more problems, but she wanted to be there Justin case there were.

"So we ready to head back to London?" Tonks asked as she looked at her two friends.

"Yeah, might as well, since our work is done here." Ginny said as she looked at Tonks.

The three girls all touched the ring Tonks pulled out, which they were going to use as their Port Key back to London.

**Outside Three Broomsticks**

Harry and Ron walked out of the Three Broomsticks and as they did the sound of screams could be heard. The scream seemed to be coming from down the street, they couldn't tell how far away it was, but they did know they were blood curdling screams.

Ron looked at Harry with a determined look in his eyes, but Harry could see they were slightly glazed over from the drinks. Without a word Harry had his wand in hand and without uttering a word he cast a sobering charm on Ron. "Go to the ministry and get help while I go check it out."

"No way" Ron said as he stared at Harry "I'm the only backup you got at the moment, anyway I am sure Aurors are on their way as we speak."

As another terror filled scream willed their ears Harry knew he had no time to argue with Ron about it, and he wasn't even sure why he would want to. Ron was right the ministry had to know something was wrong, and so Aurors should be on their way, though Harry wasn't to sure with Hardy still being the head Auror.

Harry and Ron snuck down the street toward the screams hoping to get a view of what was happening without heading head strong into battle. As they reached the bend in the street they could see what was happening, and it made Harry's blood boil.

Two masked men in black robes were in the middle of the street, one of them was holding on to the woman that was screaming out. The other one had a girl, the woman's daughter no doubt, in the air and was flipping her over and over. The scene sparked the memory of the Quidditch World Cup and what they did to the muggles there. Though this girl was no muggle it was still appalling to watch the display in front of them. To make it even worse though was to have the girl's mother held in place and forced to watch as her little girl was tormented by the two bullies, which is all Death Eaters are, an organized group of bullies.

"How long ya think it will take" the Death Eater flipping the kid in the air asked his partner.

"Don't know, but we continue until he does or we get word that another team got him."

"What about the Aurors?"

"Don't worry about them, our men in the ministry will keep them busy" the man said as he laughed out.

'_So much for Auror support'_ Harry thought as he glared at the two men _'no doubt trying to bait me.'_ Harry looked at Ron and in a low tone spoke "since there is only two we can handle them, but if things start to head south…"

"I know try to escape to get help" Ron said in an equally low tone "just like the old days eh mate?"

Harry didn't reply, but he didn't have to, because the fire that burned in his emerald eyes told Ron all he needed to know. Harry was mad, and that didn't bode well for the two men before them.

Harry motioned for Ron to stay put as he stepped out into the street "hey ugly looking for me?"

The man tormenting the girl glanced at Harry, while his partner stunned the mother and moved closer to his partner. "Potter" he exclaimed as he stared at Harry "not the trouble making punk we were hoping for, but you will do."

"Yeah the lord will be pleased when we take you to him" the other side as he flipped the girl around to show his excitement.

"Honestly" Harry said as he took in what the men had said, but he didn't have time to work it all out "one would think after years of failure that you would just give up and go home."

"We will not fail" the man said in a determined tone.

Harry laughed "so you're saying you are going to manage to do what the dark tosser couldn't even accomplish?"

"Why you" the one said as he stepped closer towards Harry.

"Why me what" Harry mocked "how about you tell your girlfriend to let the girl go, so we can get this show on the road?"

Harry didn't have much of a plan from where Ron stood, but he could see that the two Death Eaters were getting mad. Harry's insult toward the Dark Lord seemed to get them on edge. Ron watched in horror as the Death Eater suspending the girl in the air stopped his charm to allow her to fall to the ground. Ron tried to think, but his mind couldn't focus on the right spell to save her, luckily Harry didn't have the same problem.

Harry had expected the Death Eater to drop the girl as he did, so he inaudibly casted a slowing charm on the girl. So instead of slamming into he ground as Ron had expected the girl landed softly on the ground. When she did she ran over to her mother's still form and screamed for her to wake up.

"Now then" Harry said as he grinned "you two ladies said something about capturing me?"

**Ginny's Office DoM**

Tonks had set up the Portkey to return them to Ginny's office in the Department of Mysteries since she didn't want to expose the base to her. They were deposited in the middle of the room avoiding contact with the furniture inside, but the ride was not an enjoyable one.

"That was awful" Ginny said as she stood up and straightened her clothes.

"That was by far the worst Portkey ride I have ever taken" Hermione added as she too straighten up.

"I don't understand, all the other Portkeys we got worked fine, and this one came from the same person" Tonks said as she looked at her two disheveled friends.

"Hopefully that was a one time occurrence because I am in no hurry to experience another ride like that." Ginny said as she made her way to her seat and sat down to steady her shaken nerves.

"I will check with the maker to see what he thinks right after I drop by my apartment for a bit of sprucing up" Tonks said as she looked at her friends. Tonks decided she would Apparate home instead of using the floo or Portkey after the ride they had.

"Something wrong" Ginny asked as she looked at Tonks, whom had a look of confusion on her face.

"Yeah, does your office have Anti-Apparation Wards?"

"No, I don't like them on my office, that way I can Apparate straight home or straight into the office if needed" Ginny said in a confused tone that matched Tonks.

"I…it would seem that I can't Apparate" Tonks said as she looked at Ginny. She then pulled out her wand and flicked it a few times. "Just as I thought, there are anti transportation wards surrounding the office, and if my guess is right they surround the whole building."

"That explains the rough ride in, but why would there be wards up when there shouldn't be?" Hermione asked as she too used her wand to check and she found the same results that Tonks had.

**Minister of Magic's Office**

"You assured me that if I made that Weasley girl head of the Department of Mysteries that she would screw up and get the heat off me" Fudge said to a skinny man that sat in front of his desk.

"I believe this to be true sir, she is young and inexperienced, I am positive she will screw up soon."

"She better Samson or it is you who will be looking for a new job in another country!"

"Like I said sir, once she screws up we will have every paper in England printing about her disaster. This will then have the whole wizarding world looking at her and her family, so they won't have time to bash you anymore."

Minister Fudge stood up and grabbed a paper off the shelf behind him and slammed it on to his desk.

**Fudge Follies**

_How does Cornelius Fudge get to stay in office when clearly he is unfit for the position that he holds. Are the people of this land as dumb as he is, or does Fudge have a way to keep himself in office?_

_Fudge is a bumbling buffoon who can't have manage to cast a simple stunner let alone run a country. It is the belief of this reporter and this office that Minister Fudge has rigged it so he wins the position of Minster of Magic, even though he clearly is unfit for the position._

The article went on to list all the follies that Fudge had made over his term in office and there are even some hints in the article which could make one believe that Cornelius Fudge was in truth a Death Eater kept in office by Voldemort as his puppet.


	12. Let’s Get Ready to Rumble

**A/N: Here ya go another chapter and hopefully this will make up some for my lack of writing for a while.**

**Chapter Twelve: Let's Get Ready to Rumble**

**Hogsmeade Outside**

"Now then" Harry said as he grinned "you two ladies said something about capturing me?"

"You arrogant brat" the first Death Eater said as he moved slightly to get into a better dueling stance.

"After all the years of chasing me that's the best you boot lickers can manage?"

"Enough of this" the other man said as he drew his wand "Avada Kedavra!"

A green light shot from the Death Eater's wand, as the sickly killing curse rushed towards Harry. Ron watched in horror as he saw the curse headed for his best friend, and his friend didn't seem to be reacting to it at all. Harry didn't seem to react at all as the green light of the curse hit him and he vanished.

"Where did he go" the one confused Death Eater asked the one that fired the curse.

"I don't know…maybe I blew 'em to bits with it, since I am so powerful."

"I doubt that would happen" Harry said from behind the two shocked Death Eaters "**Reducto**!"

The curse flew at the Death Eater that had fired the unforgivable at Harry and it hit before he could even react. Harry hit him in his wand arm shattering it to pieces and this caused the man to fall to the ground screaming in pain as blood started to pool on the ground around him.

"How…" the last remaining Death Eater stammered as he stared at Harry.

"How'd I what? Oh you mean how did I get over here, well that is a secret that I won't be sharing today, but I will share this with you."

"What's that" the Death Eater asked dumbly as he looked at Harry and tried to avoid looking down at his friend on the ground.

"**Stupefy!**" Harry said as the stunning curse was sent from his wand and connected with the Death Eater rendering him unconscious.

Ron had watched the whole battle which in all honesty wasn't even a battle, since it was mainly one sided. Any way Ron had watched it in disbelief and could not figure out how Harry managed to move behind the two Death Eaters since he was sure that there were Anti-Apparation Wards in place.

**Ginny's Office DoM**

"That explains the rough ride in, but why would there be wards up when there shouldn't be?" Hermione asked as she too used her wand to check and she found the same results that Tonks had.

"I can only think of a few reasons and none of them are good" Tonks said as her confused expression turned to one of concern.

"Do you think Death Eaters are attacking" Ginny asked with a hint of concern in her voice.

"That is the number one reason I can think of for there to be wards up" Tonks said held on to her wand waiting to see if anything would happen. If she were still an Auror she would have been notified of an attack, but since Hardy saw fit to let her go that didn't happen.

"Ok, we need to figure out who is here and how many of them there are" Ginny said as she took on her role as department head.

"Right, I will try to contact the Order and see what they know" Hermione said as she pulled out a small phoenix shaped necklace.

"I am going to try and contact Harry" Tonks said with a hint that she was also calling the others but she couldn't let Hermione know about them.

"I will see what the Unspeakables know" Ginny said as she was the last to proclaim what she was going to do.

**Minister of Magic's Office**

The article went on to list all the follies that Fudge had made over his term in office and there are even some hints in the article which could make one believe that Cornelius Fudge was in truth a Death Eater kept in office by Voldemort as his puppet.

Samson looked at the paper and then at the minister of magic "sir I told you back when Hukaby retired as the head of the department of mysteries that I believed my plan to be worth while, and sir I still believe it to be true."

"I hope so Samson, with that Potter brat back, and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named on the loose I am not sure I am secure in my position as minister."

"You worry way too much sir, you need to…" Samson didn't get to finish his statement as an explosion was heard outside Fudge's office.

"What in the name of Merlin is going on out there" Fudge said as he looked at the door of his office.

"I'm checking sir" Samson said as he pulled a roll of parchment from his robes. He looked over it for a moment before his expression turned dire. "We're under attack Death Eaters have stormed the ministry and all available Aurors are locked in battles with them."

"What? This is all I needed now" Fudge said as he coward behind his desk.

"They have place Anti-Transport Wards up which mean you can't Apparate or use a Portkey either."

"Damn them" fudge said as he heard a large crashing sound closer to his door. The Death eaters were getting closer and Fudge was getting more desperate for a way to escape. A grin came to Fudge's face "Samson this way." Fudge went over to a shelf that he kept a bottle of Fire Whiskey on, and with a flick of wand and the correct password the shelf vanished to show a tunnel. "In here" Fudge said as he ran into the tunnel.

Samson didn't need to be told twice, he might have been shocked by how calm Fudge was and how in charge the man seemed, but he wasn't waiting around for the Death Eaters to come bursting into the office either.

When Samson got inside it the shelf reappeared leaving the tunnel bathed only by the light of two torches, one on each wall. Fudge continued to remain calm and in charge as he took one of the torches off the wall and started down the tunnel with Samson following behind him.

"Sir do you know where your going?"

"Of course Samson, I had this tunnel put in, in case of such an emergency. We will come out into a small house a few blocks from the ministry that I bought to use as an exit for the tunnel."

**Hogsmeade Outside**

Ron watched on as Harry walked over and bound the stunned death eater with ropes that he conjured up. Harry didn't want him to escape, so he made sure to use quite a bit of rope, a bit more than Ron expected was needed.

"Harry, you were brilliant" Ron said as he ran over to him "how did you manage to get behind them?"

Harry laughed at Ron "wasn't hard" Harry said as he finished securing the Death Eater. "it was a bit of old magic I suppose mixed with some new, basically I used an illusion of myself to distract them, while I went invisibly behind them, so like I said nothing to it mate."

"Brilliant is what it was" Ron said still sounding a bit shocked "I thought you were a goner when I saw that killing curse coming at ya."

"Take more than these two jokers to bring me down Ron, you should know that. How about you go fetch Dumbledore while I try to get some useful information out of this slacker?"

"Right I'll see if I can get him and anyone else I can since we might need to help them in Diagon Alley or at the Ministry."

"As soon as I find out what I can from him I will head for the Ministry, you should take a group to Diagon Alley to see if they need help there."

"Ok mate be careful" Ron said as he Apparated away from Hogsmeade.

Harry laughed slightly as Ron left "now your mine asshole" he said as he aimed his way at the bound Death Eater "**Enervate!**"

**Ginny's Office DoM**

Hermione went to contact the Order and got a hold of Dumbledore, so she informed him of the little she knew. "That's right Albus we wards are in place, so we can't get out, but we did manage to port in."

"That means they are using one way wards, which means they aren't worried about help coming to aid those inside, they just don't want those inside getting out to help anyone."

"Have there been reports of other attacks" Hermione asked though she didn't think so since Dumbledore didn't know about the Ministry.

"Not as of…" Dumbledore stopped speaking "hold on Mrs. Weasley your husband just come in."

'_Ron'_ Hermione thought as she waited for Dumbledore to speak again _'what are you doing there?'_

"Mrs. Weasley it is just as we expected there was another attack in Hogsmeade, apparently your husband and Mr. Potter were there when it happened, so they foiled it. However I am told another one is said to be taking place in Diagon Alley. I am going to get half the Order to head there and the other half will see about getting into the Ministry."

"Very well Professor we will do what we can in here" Hermione said as she finished her conference with Dumbledore.

Ginny contacted the Unspeakables to see what they knew of the wards "Harold what can you tell me about the wards?"

"Not much ma'am, we know that there was a break in about five to ten minutes ago, once inside the intruders put up the wards."

"Have you sent men to investigate?"

"Yes ma'am two my of my seasoned operatives went out a bit ago to do some recon on the situation."

"Keep me advised of the situation Harold and I will see what I can do to help from here."

"Ma'am if I may suggest that it is best for you to stay hidden because if you were to be captured it could be fatal to the Department of Mysteries and to us as well."

"I will take your concerns under advisement Harold and thank you for your concern."

Tonks walked off to a corner to get some privacy and after putting up a few silencing charms she contacted Spade at the Jade Scorpion. "Spade this is Panther are you there?"

"I'm here what's wrong Panther" came Spades voice across to her.

"Have you heard from Wolf" Tonks asked in a concerned tone.

"Yeah when he dropped off your mark, nice catch by the way, he was to tell you guys to take it easy and report in for a briefing tomorrow morning."

"He might be at home then waiting on us, I hate to ask, but could you get one of the guys to go over and check?"

"Why can't you? There is something your not telling me Panther, what's wrong?"

"Well it is kind of hard for me to since I can't leave the Ministry. Apparently something is happening here and there are wards up that are preventing me from Apparating out."

"Oh, sit tight I will get someone over to check on him, and also I will get a team to the ministry just in case."

"No, the organization doesn't need its cover blown. I am here as is Fox, so if I can just find out where Harry is I will be happy."

"I understand…I will get someone right on it and let ya know as soon as I find out anything."

**Inside House (Tunnel Exit)**

"We should try to get some help for in the ministry" Samson said as he sat down in a chair that Fudge motioned him to sit in.

"No way" Fudge said as he walked over to a cabinet and got out a bottle of Fire Whiskey. "I just escaped from that place, and I will be damned if I am going to go charging back in there."

"I didn't say you sir, but we should see if we could get someone to aid them."

"Nothing doing" Fudge said as he poured his drink "let them kill themselves for all I care. The more of those traitors and Death Eaters that die the better it will be, then I can go back and rebuild the ministry how I need it to be."

"Sir, don't you think this will look bad in the press?"

"No I don't, after all it is the job of the department heads to protect me. Amelia Bones is head of Magical Law Enforcement is loyal to Dumbledore and there for a threat to me, so she will no doubt fall when this is all done. Malcolm Hardy is Head Auror and I appointed him, so I will see to it that he is kept safe for now. Ginevra Weasley is head of Department of Mysteries thanks to me, but she is loyal to Dumbledore and Potter, so she will have to fall as well."

"I wouldn't bring her down just yet sir."

"Why the hell not? I need someone in there that I can control, not someone that is with Dumbledore and Potter!"

"I agree that right now she is with them, but if you leave her there for now, then we can set up a bigger scandal that will surely put her and others in Azkaban."

Fudge laughed in a maniac sort of way "I knew there was a reason I liked you Samson."


	13. Animals of War

**A/N: What can I say, I am trying to move the story along, but it doesnt seem to be going as quickly as I first thought. However I am pushing on and hope to end this one and DoSYO soon (i hope).**

**Chapter Thirteen: Animals of War**

**Hogsmeade Outside**

Harry laughed slightly as Ron left "now your mine asshole" he said as he aimed his way at the bound Death Eater "**Enervate!**"

The Death Eater woke up but was unable to move as he was bound securely by the ropes that Harry had bound him with.

"You're going to answer some questions for me…"

"What if I don't" the Death Eater said cutting off Harry's statement.

"If you choose not to then you will be punished, and it will be your own fault for not answering my simple questions."

"Go to hell" the Death Eater spat at Harry.

"Not a good way to start off this interrogation I assure you" Harry said as he kicked the Death Eater in the ribs.

The Death Eater cried out in pain "you're the good guy you're not suppose to be violent."

"Now who said I was good" Harry said with a grin "who ever did lied to ya mate. So let's try this again shall we, what is your name?"

"Gaul Jose" the Death Eater said not wanting to be kicked again, and it wasn't like his name was all that important anyway.

"Well Gaul it is like this I only have a few things I need to know, and once that is done then maybe I will be nice and let ya live. If you lie to me or not tell me what I wanna know then I promise that you will be begging to die before I am done with you. Ok so if you weren't trying to bait me out here today then who were you trying to get?"

"I can't say" Gaul said out of fear because he knew Voldemort would kill him if he told, though he didn't think Harry Potter would do as he threatened.

"Can't or won't?"

"I won't say."

"That's what I thought" Harry said as he bent down and picked up Gaul's wand "I had hoped we wouldn't have to do this the hard way Gaul. However you seem to not fully grasp the situation, and since you don't get it from your dead friend there maybe I can teach it another way, **Crucio!**"

Gaul had been hit by the Cruciatus Curse by Voldemort a few times and while it hurt badly he managed not to scream out in pain after the first two times. This time however the pain was a lot worse than when Voldemort done it. Gaul didn't know if the rumors were true and that Harry Potter was more powerful than Voldemort or maybe it was the fact that Harry was using his own wand on him. Ether way Gaul screamed out in pain and begged for Harry to stop, which Harry did.

"Are you willing to talk or should we go again with another pain curse?"

"I'll talk just stop please" Gaul begged as a tear rolled down his cheek.

"Who were you sent to draw out today?"

"Silver Wolf, the Dark Lord wanted us to draw out and catch Silver Wolf."

"Why, why did he want you to get him?"

"He heard that Silver Wolf managed to abduct you, though he doesn't believe it wholly, he would like to find out. If he did then the Dark Lord wants to recruit him as a partner to bring you down, if he refuses then he will kill him to eliminate one threat."

"So that's it, the ole tosser is trying to get the wolf to do his dirty work" Harry said aloud as he looked at Gaul. "What made you think he would come out if you attacked people in town?"

"I don't know, I only did what the Dark Lord said to, it was his idea."

"Sure it was, that tosser never came up with an original idea in his life, how many are in Diagon Alley?"

"One team of two, just like here."

"I can't believe you arrogant prats actually thought that two no named Death Eaters could catch Silver Wolf."

"Did he really capture you?"

"That's none of your business, how many are at the Ministry of Magic?"

"A standard assault force of six with two leaders, so eight altogether."

"Thanks for the information, now you lay here and behave until the Auror shows up to take you in for questioning."

"That's it, you're not going to torture or kill me?"

"Nope, you answered my questions, so there is no more need for that, you may now go to Azkaban and think about what you have done."

"Thank you, I never wanted to be a Death Eater, but my dad said I had to, said it was the family business."

"Ya should have left your family then mate" Harry said as he Apparated away from the Death Eater who was still bound on the ground.

**Ginny's Office DoM**

The three ladies meet back in the middle of the office once they have finished with their own calls. "Dumbledore said that Ron showed up in his office saying something about an attack in Hogsmeade" Hermione said as she met the other two.

"Harold said that his guy that went out checking spotted a few Death Eaters in the building, but he wasn't sure exactly how many there were" Ginny added as she looked at Hermione and Tonks.

"I can't add much" Tonks said glumly "I still don't know where Harry is."

"That reminds me" Hermione said interrupting Tonks "Dumbledore mentioned that Harry was with Ron when the attack occurred in Hogsmeade."

"Of course he would be" Tonks said sharply "no doubt he chose to fight them instead of getting help."

"That would be our Harry" Ginny added with a half grin "though you know he can take care of himself."

"I know" Tonks said "I just wish we could do more than just stand here talking."

"Then lets go do something" Hermione said fully ready to go fight those invading her space.

However before she could say or do anything else there was a thundering pop as someone Apparated through the wards. The sound was much louder than it should have been and the girls were not all too shocked when they saw Harry standing in the midst of them with a grin on his face "ain't interrupting am I?"

"Harry" the three ladies exclaimed at once as they rushed for him and proceeded to hug him.

"Calm down I haven't been gone that long" Harry said as he pulled himself out of the fray of the three lovely ladies.

"We just found out what been happening and were worried" Ginny said with a bit of mock concern in her voice.

"Yeah mister" Tonks said as she smacked him in the shoulder lovingly "how dare you pick a fight alone?"

"I wasn't alone" Harry said in his own defense "Ron was there."

"Load of help he was I bet" Ginny said with a laugh.

"All jokes aside we still have a situation here" Hermione said as she brought her three friends back to reality.

"That's right, that's why I came because I caught one of the Death Eaters in Hogsmeade and questioned him about the attack" Harry said as he looked at his three friends.

"So you going to tell us what he said or do we have to guess" Ginny asked after Harry was silent for a second.

"Guess" Harry said and laughed when he saw the look on Ginny's face. "It was a joke Gin, the Death Eater old me that there is a normal assault team of six hitting the ministry with a two man lead, so eight altogether."

"Any idea why they are attacking" Hermione asked though she figured it was probably to get Harry or something like that.

"Yeah, something about luring Silver Wolf out into the open so they can capture him."

Tonks and Ginny froze in silent shock at what he said while Hermione was shocked that it was this Silver Wolf that Voldemort was after and not Harry.

"Why would he be after Silver Wolf" Hermione asked out loud though it was more of a self pondering than anything.

"Because he thinks that Silver Wolf will help him get me" Harry said to answer Hermione's question that she didn't even intend to ask.

"What, oh, well I didn't, I mean" Hermione said still lost in thought "I think there is more to it than that honestly."

"Care to explain then Mione" Ginny asked in a sweet tone that one might find as being a bit too sweet.

"I can't just yet Gin" Hermione said in a frustrated tone "I need to get back to my office, then I might be able to, but I need to look at one of my books first."

"Okay then we will get you to your office" Harry said in a determined tone "shouldn't been too hard."

"Fine I will consult my book while you do what, fight them off on your own?"

"No, we wouldn't be on our own there are Aurors and Unspeakables around, not to mention that some Order members are probably here as well" Harry said as he grinned at Hermione.

"Fine then" Hermione said in defeat "I know I won't win this argument, so I might as well just deal with it. My office is down the hall and to the left, so it shouldn't be too hard to get to."

They made their way out of Ginny's office and started down the hallway. Just as they expected there was no one around. Hermione went into her office followed by the rest of her friends.

"Ginny stay with Hermione, while Tonks and I scout out the rest of the floor" Harry said as he looked at his two friends.

Hermione didn't seem to like the idea, but she didn't start complaining though as she went to get the book that she wanted to look at. Ginny gave them a look of concern and understanding "be careful out there."

"We will Gin, no worries" Harry said with a smile before he led Tonks toward the door "secure this door and have it password locked."

"Okay the password will be my nickname" Ginny said with a grin as she followed them to the door.

**Hallway DoM**

"So what's the plan" Tonks asked Harry once they started down the hallway away from Hermione's office.

"Right now we scout" Harry said as they continued to walk "though I am thinking that it will come down to Wolf providing a distraction for the rest of you to take them out."

"No, you cant seriously believe that is a buyable option, we can manage without risking exposure I'm sure."

"You're probably right Tonks, but if it comes down to it then that is what will happen."

"Fine, but only as a last possible resort" Tonks said sternly, which didn't fit her nature. "So what do you think our book worm witch needed to look up so badly in her office?"

"Who knows, but no doubt it is something bad and it probably is about me" Harry said solemnly as he continued his patrol.

**Hermione's Office**

"So the password is your nickname eh" Hermione said as Ginny walked back over 'which one would that be?"

"Fox" Ginny said with a grin "now aren't you suppose to be looking for something?"

"Fox eh" Hermione said as she flipped through the book she had "that's interesting."

"Why's that interesting my dear Mione?"

"Well you are a fox I will give ya that much Gin" Hermione said with a smile "but it is also interesting since there is mention of a fox in this book I read as well."

"That is interesting" Ginny said as she walked over by Hermione "you know today wasn't suppose to be like this."

"I know, I was supposed to take it easy, I'm sorry maybe next weekend" Hermione said with a laugh.

"Yeah you were" Ginny said as she put her hand on Hermione's hand "its okay though some day soon it will happen."

**Hallway DoM**

"It all looks clear here, we should be assaulting their team of Death eaters as they are probably in the main lobby," Harry said as they walked back towards Hermione's office.

"Spade wanted to send in an assault team, but I told him the organization shouldn't get involved. I also think Dumbledore was sending in some Order members, so they will be helping with the fight. The best thing we can do right now is get back and see if Hermione found whatever it was that she was looking for."

"Yeah you're right, I just hope it isn't something about me this time" Harry said glumly as they got to the door "fox."

Harry gave the password and the door unlocked to allow them to enter into the office, but when they walked in they weren't too sure what they were seeing. Sure it looked innocent enough Hermione with a book in front of her and Ginny with her hand upon Hermione's, but a man's mind can wonder when he sees such a sight.

"No wonder Ron thought you were cheating" Harry said jokingly as he walked toward Ginny and Hermione.

Hermione and Ginny were both shocked by the arrival of Harry and Tonks as they didn't expect them back so soon. Hermione's face turned as red as Ginny's hair, and Ginny turned a bright shade of red as well.

Tonks for her part tried to hide her laugh as she smacked Harry in the shoulder "you be nice, your friends can do whatever they please they are adults you know."

"We weren't" both girls said at the same time but Harry hushed them both.

"I was joking, now Hermione did you find what you were looking for or should Tonks and I give you and Ginny more alone time?"

Hermione shot Harry an evil glare, but then went all professional as she went to her book "yeah I did find it in fact. It is an interesting story, and one I think you might like to hear, though I am not sure how it all works out just yet."

"Well get on with it Hermione, there are Death Eaters on the loose and we are stuck down here doing nothing about them" Harry said with a tad bit of concern in his voice.

Hermione picked up the book off her desk as she motioned the others to sit down "this story is entitled the Animals of War."

**The Animals of War**

_The end of days draws nears as the animals of war draw closer to their final battle. The snake, wolf, and phoenix have always fought each other, but they aren't the only ones in the war. The end of days will be known when the wolf runs with the panther wild and free, allowing their love to blossom in the growing day's sun. The end of days will be shown when the chimp betrays its mate with the fox, and they frolic in the fields all day long. Beware for though the snake is the most feared enemy and the phoenix is a trusted ally, there is a shark in the waters that seeks to bring harm to the land dwellers. The shark must be taken care of before the twilight of the final day or all shall be for naught and the snake shall devour the phoenix. _

_The wolf believes he is alone on his path to destroy the snake in the garden of life, but that is not to be the case. The phoenix flies high in the sky to add a song of encouragement for the wolf. The panther, the wolf's trusted friend and mate runs beside him as an equal in all, and shall so stand with him to battle the snake and shark. _

_Beware if two remain then none shall survive, it is when two become one that they shall truly be able to defeat the snake. Let not the darkness of the unknown or the sting of the scorpion keep you from completing what must be done this day for on the last day one must stand where two now reside._


	14. Wolf Revealed

A/N: I know some of you will want to know why the group isn't worried about the battle waging above them, but the truth is they are. They just feel they need to get this sorted out before they can deal with them.  
Leave a review and let me know what ya think because it helps keep the motivational juices flowing.

**Chapter Fourteen: Wolf Revealed**

**The Animals of War**

The end of day's draws nears as the animals of war draw closer to their final battle. The snake, wolf, and phoenix have always fought each other, but they aren't the only ones in the war. The end of days will be known when the wolf runs with the panther wild and free, allowing their love to blossom in the growing day's sun. The end of days will be shown when the chimp betrays its mate with the fox, and they frolic in the fields all day long. Beware for though the snake is the most feared enemy and the phoenix is a trusted ally, there is a shark in the waters that seeks to bring harm to the land dwellers. The shark must be taken care of before the twilight of the final day or all shall be for naught and the snake shall devour the phoenix.

The wolf believes he is alone on his path to destroy the snake in the garden of life, but that is not to be the case. The phoenix flies high in the sky to add a song of encouragement for the wolf. The panther, the wolf's trusted friend and mate runs beside him as an equal in all, and shall so stand with him to battle the snake and shark.

Beware if two remain then none shall survive, it is when two become one that they shall truly be able to defeat the snake. Let not the darkness of the unknown or the sting of the scorpion keep you from completing what must be done this day for on the last day one must stand where two now reside.

When Hermione finished reading Harry looked at her with a look of confusion and bewilderment in his eyes. "First how does this help us know anything and second what makes you think this has got anything to do with anything that is happening in our world?"

"Yeah" Tonks said adding to what Harry said "it doesn't seem like much to go on and it does only seem like a story to me."

"At first I didn't think much of it" Hermione said as she looked at it for a second "what drew me to it mainly was the battle between the snake, wolf, and phoenix. Right away I figured You-Know-Who was the snake, Dumbledore was the phoenix, but I didn't know who the wolf was or how Harry might fit into this. Then Silver Wolf appeared out of no where, which made me think once again of this tale."

"Well if the snake is who you say and Dumbledore is the phoenix, then that lets the wolf, panther, chimp, fox, and shark as the unknowns" Tonks said hoping that he assumptions were not accurate.

"Let's leave that for now" Hermione said trying her best to avoid something "let's focus on the parts of it then I will explain my theory on it okay?"

Everyone agreed, so Hermione looked over the passage and then started where she thought she needed to. "There are eleven sections to this passage that we shall focus our attention on. The first; the end of day's draws nears as the animals of war draw closer to their final battle. This one doesn't seem to be much of a determining statement, it just seems to be the scene setter, so instead of eleven lines of passage there are actually only ten. So then the first one we shall focus on instead is; The snake, wolf, and phoenix have always fought each other, but they aren't the only ones in the war. As I said we know that Voldemort is most likely the snake, Dumbledore is the phoenix, and they have been fighting each other for a long time. What I am starting to piece together is where the wolf fits into it, but I will get to that in a minute. What we can gather though is that this is the major war we are facing right now."

Harry stood in silence as Hermione rattled on and he wondered just how much she would figure out and if she would come to the right conclusion. If he knew his best friend as well as he thought he did then he figured that she would get it right in one try.

"The third line is; the end of days will be known when the wolf runs with the panther wild and free, allowing their love to blossom in the growing day's sun. This one I am still confused upon, but I think it might work out once I have pieced the rest together" Hermione said as she continued to rant on. "The fourth line states; The end of days will be shown when the chimp betrays its mate with the fox, and they frolic in the fields all day long. This is where I must stop because this one was the one that threw me off until just a few minutes ago."

"What do you mean" Tonks asked Hermione as she waited to figure out what the story meant, so she could get to the fighting part of the battle.

"It was the password" Ginny said "I used my nickname fox, which is when she got all funny."

"Yeah it was that because I am afraid that Ron was right" Hermione said with a small amount of shame "I have been cheating, but it's been with Ginny not another guy."

There was a moment of shocked silence because though Harry joked about it he didn't think that his two friends were actually together. He was happy for them of course, but felt bad as well for Ron since he was right about Hermione cheating. "Wait" Harry said breaking the silence as a thought came to him "are you saying you're the chimp in the story?"

Hermione laughed lightly "yes it would appear so, which makes sense since chimps along with other apes are believed to be the smartest animals in the world."

"That would make sense since you're the smartest witch I know" Harry said with a chuckle "so are you an Animagus?"

"Don't know" Hermione said in an ashamed tone "I guess I never bothered to find out, been too busy I suppose."

"That doesn't really matter now" Harry said getting back on track "what matters is that we figure out the rest of this tale soon."

"So basically what we have so far" Tonks said trying to refresh her memory and get things on the right path "is this, which I will edit out the animals we know now. The end of day's draws nears as the animals of war draw closer to their final battle. Voldemort, Wolf, and Dumbledore have always fought each other, but they aren't the only ones in the war. The end of days will be known when the wolf runs with the panther wild and free, allowing their love to blossom in the growing day's sun. The end of days will be shown when the Hermione betrays her mate with the Ginny, and they frolic in the fields all day long. Does that pretty much sum up what we know?"

"Yeah I think so, since we don't know who the wolf and panther are" Hermione said as she gave Harry and Tonks a suspicious look. "moving on to the fifth line, beware for though the snake is the most feared enemy and the phoenix is a trusted ally, there is a shark in the waters that seeks to bring harm to the land dwellers."

"Any idea what that could mean or who the shark might be" Tonks asked hoping to pull the discussion in that direction.

"Well that is a bit confusing" Hermione said as she looked over the passage once more, "there are a few people that could fall into that category."

"Malcolm Hardy is one" Tonks said coldly knowing what she lost for some time because of that guy, she couldn't stand him and she swore he would pay.

"Yeah he could be" Harry said as he thought about the Dursleys, which he hadn't thought of in many years, but he knew they could fall into that category as well.

"What about Fudge" Ginny asked as she looked at her friends "he is always trying to bring down Dumbledore and Harry."

"Ginny that's perfect" Hermione said as she about flew out of her seat "It makes sense because Fudge is the one that want Harry out of the way to prevent him from ousting him as Minister of Magic."

"That's true, so we can say for now at least that Fudge is the shark" Tonks said with a slight grin as she hoped that corrupt prat got what was coming to him.

"So the sixth line says; the shark must be taken care of before the twilight of the final day or all shall be for naught and the snake shall devour the phoenix." Hermione said as she got back on track "this means Fudge must be dealt with before the end of the final battle I think, but I am not sure if it means Voldemort will kill Dumbledore if he isn't dealt with."

"Yeah that is confusing" Harry said "I agree if Fudge is going to be a problem then he must be taken care of as quick as possible."

"We will deal with that issue later" Hermione said as she went back to the book "we need to move on before the Death Eaters get down here. The seventh line is; the wolf believes he is alone on his path to destroy the snake in the garden of life, but that is not to be the case. This one is easier to figure out I think, I think it just means that the wolf will try to bring down Voldemort instead of realizing that he has friends to help him."

Harry didn't say anything, but he knew that was right at one time. In fact that was why he called himself Silver Wolf in the first place because he felt like he was alone.

"Anyway we will get on with this, as line eight says; the phoenix flies high in the sky to add a song of encouragement for the wolf." Hermione said as she looked at the book "it just seems like Dumbledore will encourage wolf and help him to beat Voldemort. The ninth line states; the panther, the wolf's trusted friend and mate runs beside him as an equal in all, and shall so stand with him to battle the snake and shark. Again this seems straight forward wolf and panther will work together to bring down Voldemort and Fudge."

"That makes sense" Tonks said knowing full well that she would be at Harry's side in any and all battles that was yet to come.

"The ninth line says; beware if two remain then none shall survive, it is when two become one that they shall truly be able to defeat the snake. This could mean a lot of things one of which could mean that Fudge needs to be taken out before Voldemort, so the enemy numbers go from two to one."

"That is one way to look at it" Harry said thought he didn't feel like that was the correct answer, it just didn't seem right.

"The final passage is; let not the darkness of the unknown or the sting of the scorpion keep you from completing what must be done this day for on the last day one must stand where two now reside. This seems to go back to the last one, but I am not sure how it fits" Hermione said as she looked over the last passage again. "I also don't get what it means by the sting of the scorpion, so it is hard to know how that plays into this whole tale."

Ginny, Tonks, and Harry all figured it had something to do with the Jade Scorpion, but they didn't know what it meant exactly.

"That's the last passage, now I will tell you this as I see it" Hermione said as she looked at her friends. "I believe it simply means that Harry, as he is no doubt Silver Wolf, Tonks, whom must be the panther, Ginny who is the fox, and I as the chimp are all entwined into a battle that will result in the final day of this major war."

Tonks seemed a bit shocked, but Harry wasn't because he was sure Hermione would figure it out. "How did you know" Tonks asked in a shocked tone.

"Simply I know that no one could catch Harry simply without a fight, and then when you disappeared as well I started to pray that I was right because if I was wrong then I lost two of my good friends."

"I figured you would get it Hermione" Harry said as he looked at his friend with a grin "if anyone would figure it out it was you."

"Yes well we can talk about that later" Hermione said in a tone that told Harry that they would have a discussion about it at a later point in time. "Anyway I believe that the four of us will need to find a way to end this battle as soon as we can. First though there are a few things we need to do, first we need to bring Fudge down he can't continue on the path he is on since it interferes with us taking out Voldemort."

"Was this the only mention of Silver Wolf that you found" Harry asked as he looked at Hermione with the thought that there was more to all this than just the animal story.

"Yes in fact there was, it is interesting that you would pick that name, but before I get into what else I found might I ask why you did choose that name?"

"Well Hermione it was a bad time in my life" Harry said solemnly "I wanted to be alone and so I donned a new look." Harry changed from his normal boy who lived appearance into the figure known as Silver Wolf "when I first took this appearance I thought nothing of it. I just thought it looked cool, so I went with it, but then I made the mistake of stopping for a drink. That was when two Death Eaters kind of pissed me off, so I had to take them down. Well for some reason when I was done the name popped into my head and I said it, but now I am thinking there might be more to it than that."

"Yes well I do to, and if I am right there is a lot more to you as well Harry" Hermione said as she went to get another book "this one makes mention to a legendary silver wolf."

Harry knew what was coming as he had already heard the story of the silver wolf, but he figured he would let her go on and see if it might be something different.


	15. Lord Wolf

**A/N: I will keep this short, you will hate me soon, but at the end you will choose if you hate me or not. Either way what is done is done and can not be undone now.**

**Chapter Fifteen: Lord Wolf**

Harry knew what was coming as he had already heard the story of the silver wolf, but he figured he would let her go on and see if it might be something different.

"Do you know anything about silver wolves" Hermione asked as she looked in the book she held.

"Only a legend that a friend told me about a king of all wolves being a silver saber wolf."

"Good then I don't need to get into that then" Hermione said as she flipped the pages of the book "have you heard of Lord Wolf?"

"Is he the same as the king of all wolves?"

"Sort of but there is more to it than that" Hermione said as she looked over the page she stopped on "are you sure you didn't know anything about this when you picked the name?"

"I told you Hermione why I chose the name and there was no other reason, hell do you think I did it to get more fame cause if so then you don't know me at all" Harry said heatedly.

"Not at all" Hermione said "I know you don't like fame, but I just wondered that's all."

The sound of a door exploding outside in the hallway told the friends that story time was over for now. "Looks like they made it down already" Harry said as he stared at the door.

"Then let's take them out" Tonks said firmly.

Hermione took defensive positions behind her desk, so they were shielded some, but could still fight as well. Tonks stood on the left side of the door by a bookshelf, while Harry stood on the right side by another bookshelf.

The office door exploded open and pieces flew inward smashing into the front of Hermione's desk. "I thought you said the mudblood worked here" one Death Eater said to the other.

"She does Miles" the second Death Eater said "I guess she must have today off."

"I thought our informer said she didn't take days off Wilkes" Miles said as he looked at what appeared to be an empty office.

Harry stood in his spot and grew angry with how the two Death Eaters were talking about his friend. He wanted nothing more than to fire off a pain cure and make them suffer, but he didn't want to do it in front of his friends and Tonks.

"Don't worry we will find her and all of them then we will get the one we are after" Miles said as he turned to leave.

"I will have fun with them when we find them and if that git doesn't show up then what happens to them is his own fault" Wilkes said as he looked at Miles.

Harry heard enough, he wasn't going to allow these two prats to hurt anyone he knew and when he found out who their informant was he would make that person suffer as well. Harry shifted into his Silver Wolf persona and then yelled "**Reducto!**" the curse flew from his wand and hit Miles in the knee shattering his knee cap and part of his leg.

Miles fell to the floor unable to support himself on one leg as blood poured out of his nub where his leg and knee once were. He was screaming as Wilkes looked at Silver Wolf "you" he bellowed "you're just the one I was looking for!"

"You and your girlfriend found me, but it doesn't look like he is in any shape to help you catch me!"

"I don't need his help" Wilkes said as he sent stunners at Silver Wolf.

Wolf put up shields to block the stunners easily and wondered at first why a Death Eater would be using a stunner instead of trying to kill him. Then he remembered that he was to be taken to Voldemort alive, which meant that they didn't dare use the killing curse on him.

"Hold still you brat" Wilkes said as Wolf dodged another of his stunners.

"Where would the fun be in that" Wolf mockingly asked as he again dodged out of the way and laughed "you couldn't hit me if I did stand still."

"Stand still and I will hit you" Wilkes said full of hate "**Crucio!**"

Silver Wolf dodged the pain curse and his expression changed "you want to play rough, **CRUCIO!**"

The curse left Wolf's wand before he even thought about what he was doing and he held the screaming Death Eater under the spell until he heard Hermione's shocked cry to stop. He left up the curse but the damage was already done as Wilkes felt the most painful Cruciatus Curse he had ever felt, and he had received many over the years of being a Death Eater.

"Harry please" Hermione said as she looked at the man called Silver Wolf and knew it was her best friend Harry. Though this man before her was unlike Harry in every way and she wasn't sure she knew him at all.

Harry felt bad that he had scared Hermione, but he just couldn't allow anyone else to suffer in his place. When he was in his wolf persona it was like he was a different person, it was like he had two lives to live at once. He didn't think he could handle doing it any longer as he needed to end things and get on track where he should be. "Its Silver Wolf" Harry said to Hermione in a tone unlike his, he needed to focus on his own problems and then he would deal with his friend. However as he turned to focus on the Death Eater he saw him change into a weasel and scamper off out of the office. "Oh no you don't" Wolf said with a growl as he shifted into his silver saber wolf form.

Harry thought he heard a shocked gasp as he took off after the Death Eater, but he didn't stop to see who did it or why. His focus was on getting and killing the Death Eater that knew who he really was before he could run back and spill it t his dark tosser of a boss.

"Harry no" Hermione said as she went to go after him, but was stopped by Tonks.

"Let him go, he must do what he has to" Tonks said to her friend.

"You don't understand he is in danger" Hermione said franticly.

"Hermione I know you're worried about him but he can handle this" Tonks said fully assured that Harry was trained enough to handle a lone Death Eater.

"I know he is capable of handling a Death Eater, but you aren't seeing the whole problem. There was more to what I needed to tell you all, but then we were interrupted."

"If it is about the legend of the silver sable wolf then we already heard it" Tonks said trying to comfort her friend "we know the last one died like a thousand years ago."

"Died? He didn't die, according to the book I read he disappeared a thousand years ago, but his body was never found."

"What does that have to do with anything" Tonks asked confused as to how it mattered since either way the saber wolf was gone.

"The book I read tells the tale of a man named Lord Wolf, and it is said to have been written by him."

"I still don't see what this has to do with Harry."

"The tale says…"

**Tale of Lord Wolf** (_Told by Hermione_)

It is said that the man known as Silver Wolf, or Lord Wolf as he later would be known took control of all the wolf packs in England and brought calm to the land. It is said that he was part man and part beast and believed to be a god because of his almighty power.

He appeared under the darkness of night and at first stood alone on a quest to return to a home that he dared not mention. Some believe him to be from a heavenly place full of gods and goddesses and that is why he could not speak of his home to mere mortals.

Over the years he was there he trained hard and became even more skilled and powerful for what he called the rapture of time. None knew then or now what he meant by that statement, but it was clear he believed whatever he thought it meant.

Then on August 21 the man known as Lord Wolf was seen for the last time. His parting phrase would be what set the whole tale into motion.

"On this day I leave you, but rest assured one day I shall return to claim my throne. One day I will return to kill the snake that plagues the land, the shark that fouls the water, and if need be the phoenix that protects the skies, for I Lord Wolf have been chosen for this task. If by chance on this day in some time a group of three female animals sit and worry about their trust friend, they shall know now that he is gone. The imposter will try to prove to those around that he is me, but when you live two lives some times one must die for the other to survive."

That statement sparked many tales of Lord Wolf and those that await his return to the world, so that they may follow him into battle as loyal subjects. Though he doesn't say it, it does sound like his return will come in a hail of fire and when it is all said and done only one shall survive and he believes it to be him.

**Reality**

"There is a lot more to the tale, but the fact is I believe today is the day that this lord wolf will return" Hermione said in a scared tone "if he does then Harry might get killed for posing as him."

Ginny and Tonks were both silent as neither knew what to think, surely the story wasn't real. Surely this Lord Wolf would not come back from where ever he went just to kill Harry, though a spike of fear hit them because if it was true then their friend was in a lot more danger than they believed.

"Hermione how did you come by this tale" Tonks asked hoping she was wrong about what she thought.

"It was on my desk earlier today before Ginny asked for my help" Hermione said as she thought about it "before that I never saw it before."

"What ya thinking Tonks" Ginny asked with concern in her voice.

"I think we better hurry to find Harry because if this book appeared out of no where today then it could be that the real Lord Wolf appeared as well."

**Hallway Ministry of Magic**

Harry chased the weasel down the hallway until he came to a large section where different halls veered off. That was when the weasel became a Death Eater once more and stood in the center of the room.

"He's here I got him" Wilkes said with a laugh as he watched the saber wolf that was chasing him skid to a halt.

"Good" hissed a snake like man who stepped out into view.

"Its Potter master" Wilkes said quickly "he is the wolf."

"What" Voldemort hissed angry "that's impossible."

"You're right" came another voice from behind the Death Eaters that were surrounding Harry. "It is impossible for him to be Silver Wolf when I am" the voice said from his position.

Voldemort turned to look at the man with long silver hair and glowing silver eyes "you're Silver Wolf?"

"That's right" the man calling himself Silver Wolf said as he looked at Voldemort.

"Then who is that" Voldemort asked as he pointed at Harry whom had taken the chance to change from a wolf into Silver Wolf form.

"That" the man snarled "is the imposter that keeps posing as me. I am tired of dealing with you, you poser, **Viciseo!**"

a sickly green light flew from the man's wand before anyone could even react and it hit Harry square in the chest. Harry didn't have a chance to react as the curse hit him and it engulfed him everyone wanted as the boy who lived vanished and only a pile of dust remained on the floor in his place.

"Now you were saying" Silver Wolf said with no remorse for what he had just done…

**The End**

**A/N: That's right this is the last chapter of this story because it is done right here. Now I know a lot of you will be screaming about the ending being a bad place, but that's too bad. This may be the end of this story, but don't worry there will be a sequel that will continue the tale.**


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